Staff at Trinity College Dublin are balloting for industrial action in defence of nearly 2,000 free parking spaces in the city centre.
The ancient right of senior academic staff to tether a horse in the grounds was withdrawn some years ago but modern-day scholars are more attached to their cars.
SIPTU is to conclude the ballot of members next Wednesday, and a union representative, Mr Jim Larragy, admits it is divisive issue.
Some staff support anything that reduces traffic in the capital while others, facing the prospect of round trips of over 100 miles a day by public transport if the spaces disappear, are determined the car will not go the way of the horse.
Under college rules staff are obliged to live within 50 kilometres of campus, but in an age of rapidly rising house prices more and more staff are seeking "deregulation" so that they can commute from places such as Dundalk and Portlaoise.
About 1,800 people, not all employees of Trinity, possess parking permits for the 550 spaces which were available on campus until last summer. Since then the number has fallen to 260 because of extensive building work. Temporary spaces have been made available on a site off South Cumberland Street nearby, but staff are obliged to pay.
The official tariff is £112.50p for a five-day week, but informed sources say the real rate is £5 a day. Things have been brought to a head by the prospect of 50 more campus places being lost when building starts shortly in the north-east corner of the campus. The South Cumberland Street car-park is due to close at the end of the year.
According to Mr Larragy, the college authorities have refused to acknowledge the historic right of staff to car-parking facilities. They have also refused to consider paying for alternative parking.
He says some staff members are considering lodging planning objections to projects because of the unsympathetic attitude of the authorities to their plight. The college takes the view that public transport is more socially desirable for commuting purposes.
The restrictions to date on parking have had some effect. Respondents to a union survey show that only 43 per cent now use the car-park on a regular basis, compared with 67 per cent last October. Mr Larragy says survey findings suggest that up to 18 per cent of car-park users will consider looking for another job if they lose the privilege.
A spokeswoman for the college said that the right to tether a horse on campus had been restricted to the bursar and fellows and had been abolished without opposition. She added that there was no problem allowing people "deregulation" to live beyond the 50-kilometre limit, but she had no comment to make on the question of car-parks.