‘Councillors have a responsibility to ask whether there is a better way of doing this’: Call for Kildare County Council to carry out parking enforcement review

A local councillor has urged Kildare County Council (KCC) to launch a review of how parking enforcement is delivered.

The call, which comes from Social Democrats Cllr Chris Pender, follows after he asked to KCC provide, for each of the past five years, the income generated in the Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District (MD) for KCC from pay parking charges and from parking fines. He also asked KCC via his question to detail "the annual costs of operating and enforcing the scheme, including contract values, duration, and contractor details".

KCC's response showed that that parking fines in the MD have more than doubled since 2021.

His comments also follow after five Kildare county councillors recently asked KCC to consider using community wardens it employs to enforce parking fines, instead of Apcoa, the company that oversees parking in towns throughout Kildare on behalf of KCC. 

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Explaining his call, Cllr Pender said: "Figures presented to councillors show that parking income in the MD in 2025 was €1,167,645. Operating and enforcement costs for the same period were €835,424.

"This means that approximately 72 percent of all parking income is now spent on operating and enforcement costs, leaving just 28 percent available for reinvestment in roads and footpaths.

He elaborated: "Operating costs have increased significantly in recent years, rising from approximately €587,000 in 2021 to €835,424 in 2025."

"This represents an increase of around 42 percent, despite the fact that, since 2021, paid parking within the MD has been limited to Newbridge and Kildare town only, with no expansion of paid parking areas elsewhere in the MD."

'SERIOUS QUESTIONS'

According to Cllr Pender, the figures raise "serious questions" about whether the current outsourced model is "delivering value for money".

He added: "When nearly three quarters of parking income is being spent on running the system itself, councillors have a responsibility to ask whether there is a better way of doing this."

Cllr Pender also noted that the pay parking contract is now up for renewal, which, in his view, could create an opportunity to assess alternative models used by other local authorities.

He said: "Some councils operate parking enforcement in house, while others use community warden models where staff deal not just with parking, but also with littering, dog fouling, public drinking, and other bye law enforcement.

"Bringing parking back in house could allow KCC to get more value from the same staffing resource, rather than paying external contractors to deliver a single function."

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Furthermore, Cllr Pender claimed that rising operating costs directly reduce the funding available for local infrastructure: "Councillors recently voted to allocate all available pay parking income back into the MD for roads and footpaths.

"If we want to maximise that investment, we need to make sure the enforcement model itself is cost effective."

Concluding his appeal, he said that he is calling on KCC to provide "a clear comparison" of the current outsourced costs against an in house or community warden model before any new contract is agreed.

"This is about value for money, flexibility, and making sure parking income works as hard as possible for local communities,” he added.

Cllr Pender also made headlines last week when he expressed cautious optimism in relation to the apparent progression of the proposed second bridge for Newbridge.

Conversely, the Mayor of the MD, Fianna Fáil Cllr Noel Heavey, said that he "has faith that the project is moving forward".

Social Democrats Cllr Chris Pender. File photograph

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Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.