DONEGAL County Council is owed over €175,000 from unpaid parking fines over the last three years.
In the same period, the Council has spent in excess of €40,000 on legal fees for court cases relating to parking fines.
Figures obtained by Donegal Daily under the Freedom of Information Act show that just over 2,000 fines have not been paid by motorists in the county.
The coffers of Donegal County Council are short €175,250 as a result.
For the period 2018-2020 inclusive, there are 2,004 fines that remain outstanding.
A spokesperson said: “This figure does not include successfully appealed tickets or tickets successfully taken through the Courts or tickets relating to vehicles registered outside the state which were successfully pursued outside the court process.”
In the last three years, 340 fines have been contested through the District Court with Donegal County Council’s spent on the associated legal fees reaching €41,820.
These are only those cases heard in court and does not include cases settled in advance of court or cases relating to vehicles registered outside the state which are pursued outside the courts.
With Covid-19 taking a hold for most of the year, it was no surprise that the number of parking fines issues in 2020 dropped dramatically.
In 2020, there were 2,332 fines issued by Donegal County Council, compared to 5,257 in 2019.
Of the 2019 fines, 3,592 have been paid with 1,626 of those issued in 2020 discharged.
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