Galway traffic court hears problems with parking app and ambiguous signage in contested cases

She explained that she could not register her car on the Council’s parking app because the previous owner of the vehicle had her details blocked.

She said that when she parked the car at Bowling Green, she walked to three shops to try to pay for a parking ticket but none of them had a Payzone facility.

When she returned to the car, she received a fine, and now she no longer uses Council car parks.

“I park in Debenhams now – it’s safer,” she said.

Cian Nihill, solicitor for Galway City Council, said motorists can pay for parking without registering on the app. Mr Nihill told Judge John King that he had paid for parking that morning without registering and by clicking ‘pay now’.

“You’re obviously smarter than me,” the woman replied, adding she was not aware of this facility and she was “not good” with technology or apps.

Judge King said he was entitled to convict but if the accused paid €140 – including €40 fine and €100 costs – by October he would strike it out.

At the start of proceedings, Mr Nihill explained that that week’s was the first court sitting under new parking bye-laws introduced by the Council in 2025.

He said that the offence of non-display of a Pay and Display ticket was still referred to in the legislation, even though under the new parking regime in Galway City there was no longer a facility to pay with cash or an obligation to display a ticket.

Mr Nihill said when motorists paid for parking – by phone, app or via Payzone at designated shops – they received an emailed receipt or e-ticket, which can be checked by wardens on their system.

Asked by Judge King whether the Council planned to return to using Pay and Display machines, Mr Nihill said: “That’s above my pay grade”.

He suggested it was a decision for elected members and Council executive, adding, “I don’t believe a decision has been made on that”.

The court heard that the Council had a new system of notifying people about fines. This led to one case being dismissed – and several more withdrawn by the Council – because the local authority lacked proof of postage under the new procedure.

Signage – or alleged lack of it – also led to a number of contested cases.

One man before the court for parking his BMW in a disabled space in Eyre Square, without a valid disabled badge, had his case struck out.

The court heard that the parking space was only temporarily designated as a disabled space while the Christmas Market operated in Eyre Square.

Judge King agreed with the accused that the temporary signage was “misleading” and he decided he had no case to answer.

This was not the case for a builder who was fined for parking in a pedestrian zone at Eyre Square West on January 14, 2026.

The man, who was involved in renovating a business on Eyre Square, said there was no signage indicating the stretch from Galway Shopping Centre towards Supermac’s was a pedestrian zone.

The community warden acknowledged that retractable bollards into the pedestrian area were not working but he insisted there was signage.

Judge King said he would spare him a conviction if he paid the €40 fine plus €100 costs.

Another case against a man fined for parking in a taxi rank in Eyre Square on December 19 last year was struck out.

The Wexford man argued the signage on that day suggested that he was parked in a loading bay, not a taxi stand.

The warden agreed with Judge King that there was “room for ambiguity” in the signage. Judge King dismissed the case but refused the accused’s request for costs.

Mr Nihill confirmed the Council was withdrawing a summons against a man who was before the court for allegedly parking in a loading bay at Fairgreen on January 8.

“They’re seeing sense at last, your honour,” said the man who had insisted he was not guilty.

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