As if the weather had not made conditions miserable enough for commuters this week, they were further inconvenienced by the fact that Pay and Display parking machines in the city were inoperable.
The root cause is a row between Galway City Council and the company which ran the parking meters for the past six years.
A spokesperson for Galway City Council said that the matter pertains to a judicial review lodged by an unsuccessful tender for the payment and maintenance services.
Dublin-based UTS Parking has operated parking meters in Galway city since 2018. Last July it initiated a legal action against Galway City Council. A judicial review hearing has been scheduled by the High Court in April to asses the process of how the local authority made its decisions to introduce a new carparking payment regime.
Last year, Galway City Council reported parking revenues of €2.8m, plus around €1m in parking fines.
In a statement yesterday, the local authority said card payments had not been available at Pay and Display machines from January 7, 2025.
"Please note due to circumstances beyond our control, it is not possible to pay for parking by cash at Pay and Display machines at present. The machines are out of order until further notice," the spokesperson said.
"Galway City Council undertook a tender process in early 2024 for the supply of payment and maintenance services, in line with public procurement.
"On completion of the tender process, a judicial review was lodged at the High Court by an unsuccessful bidder.
"Galway City Council awaits the outcome of this court process and as the matter is now sub judice the Council can make no further comment at this time.
"Galway City Council apologies for any inconvenience experienced by customers," the statement added.
A spokesman for UTS Parking said it had been awarded the contract in 2018 following an RTÉ Primetime investigation which examined alleged discrepancies in car parking finances in Galway.
“There is no need for this disruption as these machines are working perfectly, but Galway City Council has decided that certain machine functions, as well as our maintenance services, need to be stopped immediately.
"We had offered to continue to operate and maintain the machines while the Courts deal with our claim that the decision to award the new machine and maintenance contract to another entity is unlawful, but Galway City Council management have chosen this unnecessary route.
"We are surprised by the decision taken by Galway City Council management to allow our contract to expire and limit payment options for motorists. This action will also have very detrimental consequences for the City Council’s ability to manage its parking meters and to validate the receipts for the direct cash payments of customers.”
Customers are advised to use a Payzone retail outlet (cash or card ), the app, online payment, or phone payment to pay for parking on-street or in Galway City Council car parks until this issue is resolved.
Before Christmas, Councillor John Connolly (Lab ) had flagged teething issues with Galway's new parking app, and his party colleague, Councillor Níall McNelis, this week said he had been "inundated" with calls from concerned constituents - especially elderly - who did not have smart phones so were unable to use the new app.
"I'm not happy with the PayZone option for cash payments. In some areas you have to walk for ages to find a shop with PayZone to pay for a parking ticket. What happens if your car is ticketed in the meantime?" he said. "I of course encourage everyone to pay for their tickets, but I can see fines being issued at the moment, and then being successfully challenged [in court] afterwards," he added.
The following payment options are in place:
Payzone Retail Outlets – pay with cash or card in retail outlets in Galway City.
Pay by App – download the free ‘Galway City Parking’ app from your usual app store, and pay by card;
Pay Online – pay by card on www.GalwayCityParking.ie; Pay by Phone – pay by card on 0818 300 161.
Customer Support is available on 0818 300 161 or at [email protected] for any users having issues with payment or the app.
Further information and FAQs can be found at www.GalwayCityParking.ie
