Christmas shoppers will be able to park for half price on Dublin city streets this year if they sign up to Dublin City Council’s electronic parking tag system.
From November 15th to January 9th motorists who have a debit or credit card will be able to park in the retail core of the city for €1.45, half the normal price for the high demand zone.
Parking prices in the outer zones of the city will also be halved.
To use the system motorists must register their car registration number and payment details at www.parkingtag.ie or telephone 0818 300 161. They will receive by post their tag – a bar-coded sticker which is displayed to the front windscreen. The tag is linked to the vehicle registration number and the motorist’s mobile phone. The motorist can park in any parking space in the city and pay by phone call or text message.
The parking session can be extended up to the maximum time permitted, normally three hours, by making a further phone call or sending another text message. There is also the option of a text reminder 10 minutes before the end of the parking session.
The cost of each transaction is deducted from the motorist’s credit/debit card account.
Parking tag transactions are recorded by the city council’s parking enforcement contractor whose staff can ascertain whether a vehicle displaying a tag is parked legally or not by scanning it with a handheld device.
The tag system has been operating since May 2009, but outside the Christmas offer period the on-street parking charges return to normal rates. It’s free to register for the tag, but there is a charge of 50 cent a month to keep the account. Motorists who use on-street pay machines during the offer period will not get any reduction.
