More needs to be done to deal with abandoned cars, say Fingal councillors

Fingal County Council removed 1,000 abandoned cars on public spaces between 2018 and 2020, the local authority has revealed.

The figures were disclosed after Independent councillor Tania Doyle tabled a question to the council asking them to address the problem of cars being abandoned in public parks, roads, and housing estates throughout Dublin 15.

“I have received numerous and strong representations from the community on the proliferation of what we call “abandoned vehicles”,” says Doyle.

“Owners are quite simply dumping vehicles they don’t want or can’t sell and there’s no excuses for it.

“Facilities are there for ELV (end of life vehicles) disposal.

“Any solution has to be enforcement of Roads Legislation and the Waste Management Act and I have received confirmation from the executive of Fingal County Council that a revision on how abandoned vehicles are classed and dealt with is being undertaken.”

A pilot scheme is being rolled out later this year throughout the county which will provide a more efficient system for the council to register and deal with abandoned vehicles, says the local authority.

“This motion has been floating around for a long time,” said Doyle.

“About one and a half, or two years ago, an abandoned vehicle policy was going forward to management – that doesn’t seem to have happened.

“I believe it is on the way, and we need an update,” she says.

Fianna Fail councillor for the Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart Howard Mahony says the problem is a widespread issue.

“It is such a big problem for us all.

“We would like to put an end to this ongoing blight in most estates in Dublin west – and I’m sure all over the county as well.”

The figures released by the council show that 299 vehicles were removed in 2018, 375 in 2019 and 327 in 2020.

However, it said that the number of vehicles removed from each local electoral area were not obtainable.

At a recent area committee meeting, some councillors agreed that the majority of abandoned vehicles were found in the Dublin 15 region.

Fine Gael councillor Punam Rane said she that has “put in so many requests to have abandoned cars from Castecurragh and the surrounding areas.”

“By the time you have contacted the council, contacted the Gardaí, it is a lengthy process before the cars get removed,” she said.

Sinn Fein councillor Aaron O’Rourke said he would like cars abandoned on roads in housing estates to be removed as well as those abandoned on areas such as public parks.

“These are the ones that are causing damage and havoc,” he says.

“We have one in our estate that has been abandoned on a bend with no tax and insurance, a car that is coming around that bend could easily crash into it.”

However, Michael Campbell of Fingal’s Environment Department said that such vehicles fall out of the remit of the council’s powers.

“Our powers begin and end with the Waste Management Act,” he says.

“It limits what we can do.”

“If an abandoned car has no tax or insurance, that is a matter for the Gardaí.

“If there is a road safety issue with the location of the vehicle, that’s the matter for the An Garda Síochana.

“They have completely separate powers under the Road Safety Act.

“We will communicate with each, and we do.

“Unfortunately, if a car is parked dangerously or taking up a parking space for long period of time, we have no remit to act on any of those circumstances.

“The only way we can resolve this is working in partnership with the Gardaí.”

With the upcoming pilot scheme, which was supported by the councillors, the local authority will be registering more information about the vehicle, where it was abandoned, how long it was abandoned for and who reported the vehicle as abandoned.

The current process of inspecting the vehicle to removing the vehicle can take up to three months.

It is hoped that the pilot scheme will make the process of dealing with abandoned vehicles more efficient and streamline.