Over 200 offenders in Co. Wexford have been charged with illegal parking in disability bays, according to Sinn Féin General Election candidate Cllr Johnny Mythen.
This serious issue came to the fore during a meeting held by the Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) in the Wexford-Ballycanew IWA Centre last week.
The service users expressed their dismay and disappoint at the figure of over 200 vehicles illegally parked in their designated zones in 2018.
As a consequence, Cllr Mythen has called on the Minister of Transport to double the fixed charge notice on any person that illegal parks in a disability bay and to consider the use of the penalty point system in such cases.
“They gave personal accounts of being verbally abused when they challenged some of these culprits,” said Cllr Mythen, who added; “Most of the service users felt intimidated and afraid and were physically shaken by these intolerant encounters.”
The people who hold disability parking discs, are urging the local traffic wardens, and the Gardaí to be extra vigilant around the disability parking bays.
They also highlighted the need for drivers to respect their rights and not to park in their designated parking spaces.
Last year the IWA ran a “back in five minutes campaign” which successfully highlighted the need for drivers to respect their parking zone and to be more aware of the unnecessary hardship they are causing their fellow citizens whom are totally dependent on their disability parking spaces, to access local shops, public amenities and services.