Donegal County Council down €344,000 in unpaid parking fines

Donegal County Council is owed over €344,000 in unpaid car parking fines with over 4,000 fines outstanding.

The figure has almost doubled in the last year and a half, while the local authority has spent nearly €20,000 in legal fees regarding to unpaid parking fines in the last three years.

Figures obtained by Donegal Live under the Freedom of Information Act show that a total of 4,213 fines remain outstanding.

Donegal County Council’s funds are €344,372 short as a result. That figure was €175,252 at the end of March, 2021.

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In the first nine months of 2022, Donegal County Council issued 3,953 parking fines with 2,610 of those remaining unpaid.

In 2020, Donegal County Council issued 2,332 parking fines and 2,712 were issued in 2021.

With Covid-19 restrictions having been in place through 2020 and 2021, it is no surprise to find a sharp rise in the number of fines issued this year. In 2019 there were 5,257 parking fines handed out.

Some 1,342 of the 2020 fines and 1,670 of those issued in 2021 have not been paid.

In the last three years, 162 cases were heard in court. In the same period Donegal County Council has shelled out €19,926 in legal fees in relation to parking fines.