Gardai hunting for expired motor tax in car parks

Ardent · 25-02-2019 05:32PM #1

Just got a lovely letter from AGS advising me of a 60 euro fine due to my car (sitting in the train station car park) having an expired tax disc.

Talk about sneaky. Never heard of this before, is this a new phenomenon?

25-02-2019 05:34PM

whats sneaky about catching you dodging tax

25-02-2019 05:36PM

Becoming a bit of a parody of themselves.

Paddy@CIRL · 25-02-2019 05:36PM

I'd imagine you're not going to get a lot of sympathy here, OP.

We all know how the system works, so when you get caught you need to take your punishment and get on with it.

lanciadub · 25-02-2019 05:40PM

Ardent wrote: »

Just got a lovely letter from AGS advising me of a 60 euro fine due to my car (sitting in the train station car park) having an expired tax disc.

Talk about sneaky. Never heard of this before, is this a new phenomenon?

no defo not a new phenomenon , I had something similar happen about 15 years ago while parked up on a street .
If its in a public place with no tax you're fair game ..

kdevitt · 25-02-2019 05:43PM

Ardent wrote: »

Just got a lovely letter from AGS advising me of a 60 euro fine due to my car (sitting in the train station car park) having an expired tax disc.

Talk about sneaky. Never heard of this before, is this a new phenomenon?

I would have thought this presented a minor legal issue for the Gardai - given it’s presumably private land. They can do you entering or leaving.

We barely ever see gardai near where I live - yet they pretty regularly park themselves at a nearby level crossing to check on tax and insurance discs of the stationary traffic. Don’t have a massive issue with it - but would probably rather they prioritize patrols to try and deter the amount of daytime burglaries going on.

Rubberchikken · 25-02-2019 05:45PM

im no fan of AGS but pay tax when its due and avoid letters for fine.

Isambard · 25-02-2019 05:50PM

kdevitt wrote: »

I would have thought this presented a minor legal issue for the Gardai - given it’s presumably private land. They can do you entering or leaving.

We barely ever see gardai near where I live - yet they pretty regularly park themselves at a nearby level crossing to check on tax and insurance discs of the stationary traffic. Don’t have a massive issue with it - but would probably rather they prioritize patrols to try and deter the amount of daytime burglaries going on.

public place requires tax disc afaik.

kdevitt · 25-02-2019 05:54PM

Isambard wrote: »

public place requires tax disc afaik.

I think it’s only a public place if admission is free of charge, which I’m purely assuming wasn’t the case here. Someone more knowledgeable might chime in hopefully.

25-02-2019 05:54PM

Ardent wrote: »

Just got a lovely letter from AGS advising me of a 60 euro fine due to my car (sitting in the train station car park) having an expired tax disc.

Talk about sneaky. Never heard of this before, is this a new phenomenon?

when you say an expired disc, how expired? a week, a month, 3 months, despite there being no grace, Id be sympathetic up to a month, but a few weeks over is normally enough to get it sorted, and I think they should be out sorting out more serious problems than this.

GM228 · 25-02-2019 06:24PM

kdevitt wrote: »

I think it’s only a public place if admission is free of charge, which I’m purely assuming wasn’t the case here. Someone more knowledgeable might chime in hopefully.

Once the public has access it's a public place whether or not there is a fee.

‘public place’ means any street, road or other place to which the public have access with mechanically propelled vehicles as of right or by permission and whether subject to or free of charge

And motor tax is a requirement in a public place.

RobbieMD · 25-02-2019 06:31PM

kdevitt wrote: »

I would have thought this presented a minor legal issue for the Gardai - given it’s presumably private land. They can do you entering or leaving.

We barely ever see gardai near where I live - yet they pretty regularly park themselves at a nearby level crossing to check on tax and insurance discs of the stationary traffic. Don’t have a massive issue with it - but would probably rather they prioritize patrols to try and deter the amount of daytime burglaries going on.

In the Act, public place is defined as-

“public place” means any street, road or other place to which the public have access with vehicles whether as of right or by permission and whether subject to or free of charge;

Effects · 25-02-2019 06:37PM

GM228 wrote: »

Once the public has access it's a public place whether or not there is a fee.

The public can access my front garden, without paying a fee. That doesn't make it a public space.

Guy:Incognito · 25-02-2019 06:42PM

w211 wrote: »

If you park your car, it can be without tax, insurance or NCT.

Not in a public place it cant.

upinsmoke · 25-02-2019 06:44PM

Also I'm pretty sure traffic wardens can give you a ticket for no tax so was probably them

Effects · 25-02-2019 06:56PM

upinsmoke wrote: »

Also I'm pretty sure traffic wardens can give you a ticket for no tax so was probably them

Do we even have traffic wardens these days? Apart for the guys in the clamping vans, who can't fine you for tax as far as I know.

25-02-2019 06:58PM

Effects wrote: »

Do we even have traffic wardens these days? Apart for the guys in the clamping vans, who can't fine you for tax as far as I know.

Yeah sure I do often see them around where I used to live nearly daily...

Squidgy Black · 25-02-2019 06:59PM

Effects wrote: »

Do we even have traffic wardens these days? Apart for the guys in the clamping vans, who can't fine you for tax as far as I know.

Local authorities like DCC/DLR etc are traffic wardens, and can fine for not displaying a valid tax disc. You're thinking of private operators like NPCS.

GM228 · 25-02-2019 07:00PM

Effects wrote: »

The public can access my front garden, without paying a fee. That doesn't make it a public space.

"As of right or by permission" qualifies the definition of a public place, in any case it is long held by the courts that the garden of a private dwelling is not a public place.

galwaytt · 25-02-2019 07:02PM

Effects wrote: »

Do we even have traffic wardens these days? Apart for the guys in the clamping vans, who can't fine you for tax as far as I know.

Sis-in-law got not one, but two tickets from wardens in Galway over the weekend, tut-tut. Would have been cheaper to tax the car at this rate.....

James Bond Junior · 25-02-2019 07:02PM

Effects wrote: »

Do we even have traffic wardens these days? Apart for the guys in the clamping vans, who can't fine you for tax as far as I know.

We have ornamental ones in Limerick.

Alun · 25-02-2019 07:02PM

They should check for bald tyres as well while they're at it, they'd make a killing.

GM228 · 25-02-2019 07:05PM

w211 wrote: »

If you park your car, it can be without tax, insurance or NCT.

Incorrect, you can't use your car in a public place without all three, "use" includes park.

endacl · 25-02-2019 07:14PM

Always thought that strolling through car parks would be a much more efficient and effect way of checking tax.

Fair play.

25-02-2019 07:19PM

Isambard wrote:

public place requires tax disc afaik.

And insurance

GM228 · 25-02-2019 07:20PM

w211 wrote: »

I have rights to remove all these discs on car park, because these are necessary only on road. Load of trouble to remove but next time I will.

Again incorrect, you are also required to display them in a public place. (The exception being for an insurance disc, but only for the first 10 days of the policy).

25-02-2019 07:32PM

upinsmoke wrote: »

Also I'm pretty sure traffic wardens can give you a ticket for no tax so was probably them

Traffic Warden sticks a notice on the car though, you don't get a letter.

Besides, OP says it was from AGS so.

OP Must live in a lovely area, that there's no malicious crime to investigate, freeing up Garda time to wander around car parks.

Paudee · 25-02-2019 07:54PM

James Bond Junior wrote: »

We have ornamental ones in Limerick.

I've gotten three in the last year outside my house when I've forgotten to display the residents permit. They're very active in certain areas of the city.

GM228 · 25-02-2019 08:03PM

w211 wrote: »

It is a f... parking.

Even if it is a "f... parking" whatever that is it is still required to be displayed in a public car park!

elperello · 25-02-2019 08:15PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Traffic Warden sticks a notice on the car though, you don't get a letter.

Besides, OP says it was from AGS so.

OP Must live in a lovely area, that there's no malicious crime to investigate, freeing up Garda time to wander around car parks.

To be fair without some level of enforcement the State would lose a lot of revenue.
I think our motor tax system is in need of complete reform but for now it is what it is and it's not fair to blame AGS for enforcing it.

25-02-2019 08:25PM

elperello wrote: »

[/B]

To be fair without some level of enforcement the State would lose a lot of revenue.
I think our motor tax system is in need of complete reform but for now it is what it is and it's not fair to blame AGS for enforcing it.

Then send Revenue officers around the car parks looking to issue fines?

I'm sick to the teeth of calling the Gardai and have them show up hours later or not at all, or hear about how they're busy at the moment, and then you see the cnuts wandering around car parks and doing people for drink driving on the way to work the following day.

I made a 999 call last summer to a break in ongoing in my house that my dad (who was at home) alerted me to. The Gardai didn't even show up. A 999 call to a break in to a house where the would-be burglars knew there was a pensioner alone inside, and the Gardai were too busy to bother their hole. Keep in mind we have heard many a time of old fellas at home alone when a burglar strikes, and they end up severely beaten or killed.

Thankfully I got home in time and managed to sort things out, but I waited 2 hours for the Gardai before ringing again to see what they were at (which was when they told me they'd "get to me soon" but they're busy).

As an aside, I work for the local papers; nothing of note was happening. No big crime scene to attend at the time.

It really irks me when I see stupid stuff like this. A legitimately useless police force.

Gardai hunting for expired motor tax in car parks

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