Removing a clamp.

Afaik councils will pursue anyone who cuts a clamp off. If it's a private company like apcoa they won't bother

Yes…but who cut the clamp off? Was it the clamp fairy?

There is CCTV in many places where there is clamping. There are also busybodies going around with helmet cameras and mobile phones making recordings and giving them to the guards. The car is photographed when the clamp and the notice are on the car. Obviously if you arrive back at the car and there is no notice on it and there is a clamp on the ground nearby, you are innocent.

All depends if you're caught or not.

I mean supposing you got back to the car, and the clamp was "removed", and you deny any knowledge or involvement at all, surely it's up to a prosecutor to prove it was you who removed it, if there's no evidence, then what can they do.

I know lads who cut them off all the time, they seem to never hear about it. This would be council ones.

Most likely there was no ticket issued for the illegal parking. The entire issue will be on the criminal damage.

The vast, vast majority of clamping in this country is done on private property. Take a look around the apartment blocks near the airport in Santry and Swords, some of them have multiple cars daily being clamped. I used to live in one in Northwood and there were at least 7 per week, every week. It came up at the AGM regularly. It's also the reason why they're so anal about the parking in Airside (well, that and the fact that it's a huge money-spinner).

It is not illegal to park in the parking spots in these private developments. It is a 100% civil matter, same as Airside. This is why they can't 'fine' you (they've no authority to fine anybody) and instead charge you a release fee. If you are able to remove the clamp WITHOUT DAMAGING IT, you are under no obligation to pay this release fee.

In that place in Northwood, I heard a commotion one morning while having coffee on the balcony. Overheard a confrontation between a resident and the clampers, who had clamped him incorrectly. He claimed he had paid, they said there was no record of it, he showed his receipt, your man repeated it wasn't on the system and he'd have to pay the €125 release fee, he didn't have it because it was the day before payday, your man said he should have looked at the signs because 'ignorance of the rules is no excuse'…..and so on.

The resident called the Guards, claimed they were "interfering with the operation of his vehicle" which is an offence, Gardaí weren't interested. They were obviously telling him it was a civil matter, because he kept repeating those words to them, saying that blocking him in was anything but a civil matter, but no joy. He rang his boss to say he wouldn't be in until this was sorted, and the boss must have told him he'd send someone out.

He went back to his apartment and returned half an hour later. There was a few lads there with a jack and a set of tools, they had raised the van and were busy removing the clamp. The APCOA guy returned in the middle of this and phoned management to see what the craic was. They must have told him to hang around and make sure to get the clamp back, but didn't one of the lads keep hold of it and threw it into the back of the van. Clamper went bananas, 'you can't steal our equipment' etc. Everyone came out on the balconies to see the commotion.

One of the lads from your man's job told him to STFU and pointed to the dashboard of the van, asking him to read out the notice that was there. He refused, so the young lad read it out at the top of his voice, for all the neighbours to hear…….."ANY CLAMP ATTACHED TO THIS VEHICLE WITHOUT PROPER AUTHORISATION, WILL BE CONFISCATED AND SUBJECT TO A €250 RELEASE FEE".

There was uproar.

I had a work call so ended up missing the rest but got all the info second hand. Guards were called by APCOA, they arrived and refused to get involved because it's a civil matter, clamper was purple with rage, resident was gleefully telling him that he should have read the signs and 'ignorance is no excuse'. Ended up keeping the clamp because they wouldn't pay the fee to get it back. He claimed he still had it about 6 months later when I saw him next.

Parking in a Council parking spot without authorisation, or anywhere else that's illegal*, is a different ball-game. They will chase you over that sh1t.

*Taken from the DCC page on parking:

If you ignore these restrictions your vehicle is liable to be clamped or towed away.

• No parking in bus lanes and clearways during hours of operation
• No parking on cycle tracks on a 24 hour basis unless indicated on a street sign
• No parking on double yellow lines
• No parking opposite a continuous white line
• No parking in bus/coach parking areas
• No parking on a footpath (either partly or wholly)
• No parking on single yellow lines during hours indicated on street sign
• No parking within 5 metres of a junction
• No parking at a pedestrian crossing or traffic lights, within 15 metres on the approach side or 5 metres on the other side
• Do not obstruct any entrance for vehicles except with the occupier’s consent
• No parking at a school entrance
• No parking on a grass margin or median
• No parking in disabled bays without a valid disabled parking permit
• No parking in loading bays during hours indicated on street sign (usage only for goods vehicles for a max of 30 minutes)
• No parking in pedestrian areas
• No parking in taxi ranks
• No parking at a bus stop

For further details on parking restrictions see The Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations, 1997 and Parking Control Bye-Laws, 2024.

“Why would you do this”

For the fun of it?

Was this a private car park or a public street?

Cut it off and throw in a river

My understanding is that it counts as criminal damage if you cut it off. You're damaging their personal property, which is an offence. It becomes a criminal matter as soon as you damage their property.

I'd argue that clamping a car is also a criminal offense, seeing as S.113 of the Road Traffic Act says:

A person shall not, without lawful authority or reasonable cause, interfere or attempt to interfere with the mechanism of a mechanically propelled vehicle while it is stationary in a public place

The wheels are part of the mechanism of a mechanically propelled vehicle, in my view. Unless someone is willing to take it to court, like anything else, I suppose it remains unclear.

Not sure about the theft angle. Spitballing here, but I suppose you're not really stealing it, you're promising to return it once the release fee has been paid. I'd also be of the opinion that anything that could be levelled at you for holding onto the clamp could be levied at the clampers for doing the same with your car. They deprived you of the use of your car, you're depriving them of the use of the clamp. Why is your act illegal, while theirs isn't?

'twas clear as day the two boyos taking the clamp off A) had done it before, B) knew exactly what to say to your man to keep him guessing and C) knew the spiel off by heart almost. The sign on the dashboard was a stroke of genius. I'm presuming they brought it with them and just threw it in at the last second. It carries as much weight, legally, as all the "unauthorised cars will be clamped" signs.

some good replies to my post - thanks I appreciate it- @yeahright, yeah I’m in agreement with you on a personal level around clamping the car in the first place. It doesn’t make sense how one is legal and the other action isn’t

And markpb, you’ve probably highlighted why there’s still a confusion over public vs private clamping