Control Plus to be replaced as Dublin clamping body

Control Plus, the operator of the Dublin City clamping service, is to be replaced by a company which tendered a "less economically-advantageous" price for the contract, the city council has admitted.

The new enforcement company, which takes over on November 1st, is Park Rite Ltd, the largest operator of public car parks in the State.

The change is unlikely to lead to a slackening of clamping in the capital, however, as the new operator will begin the service with extra vehicles and about 10 more personnel than the existing 122 staff.

Control Plus said it was "naturally disappointed" by the loss of the contract which is worth some €8.2 million a year to the company.

In a statement, Dublin City Council - which recovers about €5 million annually in fines - said the decision to switch operators was based on a number of criteria, including "the most economically-advantageous".

However, Mr Paul McCarthy, of the council's traffic department, acknowledged that the tender submitted by the outgoing operator, Control Plus, offered more economically. "Park Rite was a less economically-advantageous tender," he confirmed.

What won Park Rite the contract, according to Mr McCarthy, were the proposed additional benefits in staff training and retraining, as well as extra staff and new vehicles.

Existing Control Plus staff may transfer to the new operator under existing legislation. Staffing levels in the new operation would depend on the "level of draw-down of service", Mr McCarthy explained.

Control Plus has been the subject of a number of complaints to the city council, many of which were based on customer service criteria.

The Control Plus operation in Galway City was also the subject of recent criticism when councillors called on the city manager to revoke the contract after doctors' cars were clamped while on duty.

However, Mr McCarthy said yesterday that the operation of the service had been unfairly criticised by "biased reports in the media".

He said in the five years since the clamping system was introduced in Dublin, illegal parking had been reduced considerably.

One of the most vociferous critics of the Control Plus operation, Mr Martin Reynolds, an architect with an address at Upper Leeson Street, said he was "really, really delighted at the news".

Mr Reynolds, who said he has written more than 1,000 letters to members of the Government over the last three years, described the clamping system as "entirely money-driven". He said it was operated with an "arrogance and a zeal which was relentless".

Ms Gráinne Kelleher, chief executive of Park Rite, said her company was very satisfied to be getting the contract.