KERRY County Council issued 335 fines to motorists for parking on footpaths in 2020.

The figure was revealed at the Kerry Joint Policing Committee online meeting on Friday.

Kerry Green Party Chairman, Anluan Dunne, had issued a question asking what measures gardaí and Kerry County Council are taking in Kerry to address the ongoing problem of motorists parking on footpaths and cycleways.

He said the problem continues to plague towns and villages with no noticeable decrease since the last time he raised the matter. Mr Dunne said children, parents with buggies, the elderly and people with mobility or visual impairments are most impacted by this behaviour.

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In response, Kerry Chief Supt Eileen Foster said Gardaí in Tralee, Killarney and Listowel are continuing to monitor illegal parking and FCPN’s will be issued where appropriate.

Chief Supt Foster said there has been a significant reduction in vehicular traffic in the county’s urban centres as a direct result of COVID-19 restrictions and reports received in relation to illegal parking have been minimal.

Charlie O’Sullivan of Kerry County Council said the local authority has traffic wardens in each of the main towns in the county, who issue fixed penalty notices (FPN’s) for breaches of the provisions of the Parking Regulations, including parking on footpaths and cycleways.

In 2020, the Council issued 335 FPN’s for parking on footpaths. (representing approximately 9% of the total number of notices issued) with 58 notices issued to date this year for this offence.

FPN’s have also been issued for parking in cycleways but these are recorded under a general classification of offences (parking a vehicle in a manner in which it will obstruct the normal flow of traffic).