CLAMPERS ARE BEING targeted by new legislation from the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar.

The Minister will present outline proposals on the legislation to the Joint Committee on Environment, Transport, Culture and Gaeltacht.

The Joint Committee will then return to the Minister with their considered view on the matter, after consulting with local authorities, clamping operators, and the general public.

Following this consultation with the Joint Committee, the Minister hopes to bring the draft legislation before the House in 2012.

A spokesperson from the Department of Transport said the draft is likely to include specific guidelines to ensure that the industry operates in a fair manner.

The Minister said that self-regulation of the industry could be an option, but on current evidence it might not be effective.

The law currently allows local authorities to clamp vehicles in public places, either directly or by contract with a clamping company. However, the current system of clamping on private property is under-regulated, bad for motorists and bad for business.

There is no legislation specifically covering the clamping of vehicles parked on private property, and the legal position is unclear.

We want to bring in a new system which protects motorists from exploitation, and benefits legitimate operators, but which still penalises bad parking behaviour.

He added:

We are considering a system where companies would apply for a licence or permit in order to operate a clamping service, to ensure that clamping operators are of good character.

The proposals include:

• To ensure that people employed by clamping companies are of good repute;
• Consideration should be given for a licensing or permit system for clamping operators;
• New operating guidelines for clamping companies;
• Whether the licensing system should be operated by an existing State agency;
• And where exactly the new regime should apply eg apartments, shopping centres, and relevant local authority sites.

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to legislate to regulate the vehicle clamping industry.

The draft legislation is being introduced as the Minister said he is “aware of a range of issues which have been raised by members of the public regarding problems they have encountered with elements of the clamping industry”.

He said that an outright ban would be a move in the wrong direction, as “fair clamping does prevent nuisance parking on public roads or on private property, particularly at apartment blocks and shopping centres”.

Minister Varadkar believes that introducing measures to regulate the industry generally will be welcomed not only by the general public but also by legitimate clamping operators.

Read: Varadkar to introduce tough new laws for clampers>