Motorists parking on the streets of Dublin paid an estimated €25 million, or almost €500,000 a week, in "pay and display" parking meter and associated charges to Dublin City Council last year.
This compares to just €3.6 million paid in 1997, the year before the system was first widely introduced in the city, new figures released to The Irish Times have shown.
The council is also receiving about €3.7 million a year in clamping and related fees for the release of a vehicle. However, it estimates that it is paying about €8 million a year to the company which runs the service, Park Rite Ltd, operating as Dublin Street Parking Services Ltd.
The amount the council receives annually from clamping and associated activities has also decreased overall, from a peak of €5.2 million in 2003.
According to Dublin City Council figures, motorists have paid an estimated €73 million in parking meter and related charges over the past three years alone. The council's estimated operational costs for parking meters over the same period were €9.6 million.
Last year, motorists paid an estimated €25.5 million in parking meter charges or some €2 million more than the council had originally projected. It has also provisionally estimated that the revenue from parking meters will increase to €27.5 million this year.
Following a successful pilot scheme, "pay and display" was rolled out in the city in March 1998 and focused initially on the city centre. It was followed by the introduction of clamping and removal of vehicles, with the first contract awarded to Control Plus in July 1998. Park Rite was subsequently awarded the contract with effect from November 2004.
While the council took in about €14 million in "traffic enforcement" charges - mainly clamping and/or removal of illegally parked vehicles - between 2003 and 2005, it paid out €25.7 million to operate the parking enforcement service over the same period. The figures from 2002 on are estimates of total income, compiled in November of the year in question.
The figures for parking meters also include income from other measures such as residential parking permits. Similarly, the figures for parking-enforcement costs include administrative and other council staff costs. However, these are understood to only make up a small percentage of the total figure.
A spokeswoman for the council acknowledged that in previous years there was more free parking around Dublin city centre. These areas would now have "parking controls". The economic boom in the city, as well as increased volumes of traffic, would also all play a role in the increased revenues,which are reinvested, she added.
A November 2004 report to the council's traffic and transportation strategic policy committee notes that the "pay and display" compliance rate averages about 89 per cent. "The increase in the number of controlled parking schemes since 1998, coupled with the high level of compliance achieved through the enforcement service has resulted in a large increase in revenue to the city council,"it said.
Income parking meters (left)* and from clamping/ traffic enforcement (right)
2005 €25.5 million €3.7 million
2004 €23.4 million €4.9 million
2003 €23.7 million €5.2 million
2002 €19.6 million €4.2 million
2001 €18.5 million €4.1 million
2000 €11.8 million €2.9 million
1999 ... €8.6 million €3.2 million
1998 ... €5.1 million €965,000
1997 ... €3.6 million €5,467
1996 ... €3.6 million -
*Figures from 2002 onwards are estimates based on calculations ordinarily made in November of the year in question. Where appropriate, figures have been converted from punts into euro, and have been rounded up.