Anyone who knows me in real life will know that for the past 7 years I have been suffering from a physical disability. At the time this began I ended up in Cork University Hospital in a pretty poor state, I was having extreme difficulty walking, speech problems and the mother of all headaches. After a battery of tests and a brain scan the doctors at C.U.H. diagnosed a brain tumour and scheduled me for surgery. Just prior to surgery I had an second scan and the tumour diagnosis was discounted. I spent the next 3 weeks in C.U.H. doing test after test and receiving diagnosis after diagnosis. In the end neither myself or the doctors were any wiser as to what had happened and I went home. While I had improved somewhat I ended going from healthy and active to having to walk with crutches and daily headaches that you wouldn’t believe, pretty much ever since. After failing to get anywhere with either a diagnosis or treatment in Ireland I ended up going to New York and spending tens of thousands of dollars of my own money to get answers and treatment. Anyway, to cut a long story short I have been disabled ever since and being a member of the Disabled Drivers Association have a Disabled Drivers Parking Permit.

The real point of the story.

One day last March I went into Cork City (as I sometimes do) and parked my car - with my disabled drivers parking permit displayed on the windscreen. I didn’t think much more until a week later I got a letter in the post from Cork City Council alleging that I committed a parking offence. The first point I find interesting here is, why don’t the city put a ticket on the windscreen anymore - this would have been very useful as I could have immediately asked the warden in question why he ticketed my car. When I received the ticket in the post I phoned up the parking fines office and got speaking with a very rude and ignorant person in Cork City Council who pretty much barked at me and told me that I could send in a written appeal if I was unhappy with the ticket. Rather than paraphrase the communication I have attached all the correspondence below;

From: Finbarr McCarthy
Sent: 12 March 2009 20:00
To: ‘parking@corkcity.ie’
Subject: Reference Number 1094505502545

Dear Sir/Madam

Regarding your correspondence reference no. 1094505502545 – I wish to contest that any offence was actually committed. I am a disabled driver in possession of a valid and current “Parking Card” (For people with disabilities). The Parking card was displayed clearly on the windscreen of my car (as it always is) when I was parked on O’Connell street on the 4th March 09. I attach photograph copies of the card (both front and rear) for your information.

Please confirm that you are withdrawing the fixed charge offence, as it should not have been imposed in the first instance.

Kind regards

Finbarr McCarthy

(Attachments with pictures of the front and back of the parking card)

From: Finbarr McCarthy
Sent: 24 March 2009 19:21
To: ‘parking@corkcity.ie’
Subject: RE: Reference Number 1094505502545

Dear Sir/Madam

Today I received your correspondence informing me that you continue to allege that I committed an offence under Bye-Law 8(1)(B) of the cork city parking bye-laws 2005. May I refer you to article 7(f) of those bye-laws, which clearly state the non-application of article 8 whilst a valid disabled persons parking permit is displayed.

http://www.corkcity.ie/roads/trafficdivision/parkingbyelaws/filedownload,2224,en.pdf

Non-Application of Bye-Laws to certain vehicles

7. Articles 8 to15 and 16 to 23 of these bye-laws shall not apply to
(a) a vehicle being used in connection with the removal of an obstruction to
traffic, the maintenance, improvement or reconstruction of a public road,
the provision, alteration or repair of a main drain, pipe or apparatus for the
supply of gas, oil, water or electricity or of a telegraph, telephone or
communications line or conduit or the provision of a traffic sign;
b) a fire brigade vehicle, an ambulance or a vehicle being used by a member
of the Garda Siochana or a traffic warden in the performance of his/her
duties as such member or warden;
(c) a vehicle which is being used by the Lord Mayor in the course of his/her
official duties;
(d) a vehicle which has been damaged or has broken down during the period
necessary to effect repairs to the vehicle or remove it from the location;
(e) a vehicle parked at the edge of a public road while a passenger is entering
or leaving it;
(f) a vehicle in the interior of which is clearly displayed a disabled person’s
parking permit issued pursuant to or recognised under the National Parking
Regulations;
(g) a vehicle in the interior of which is displayed a valid Residents Parking
Permit issued by Cork City Council.

Again I am requesting that you immediately withdraw the allegation and withdraw the fixed charge notice as no offence was committed and to issue court proceedings, as you are threatening, seems like a needless waste of the courts time and resources.

Kind regards

Finbarr McCarthy

(Attachments with pictures of the front and back of the parking card)

I am very angry with Cork City Council over this whole issue, but on a point of principle I will not pay the fine when it was issued unlawfully and unjustly. My questions around this saga are as follows;

• Is this some form of organisational corruption within Cork City Council - trying to shake down money where they feel they can?
• Is it Cork City Council discriminating against disabled people?
• Or is it systemic incompetence by Cork City Council where none of the people all along the chain understand the laws that their own organisation have written?

Either which way I believe that this is entirely unacceptable behavior from an organisation that is funded by us, the tax-payers and I for one am furious that my tax money is wasted in this way.

What do you think, Are Cork City Council, Corrupt, Discriminatory or Incompetent?

I would like to hear your comments on this.

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Tags: Cork City Council