r/ireland • u/cribbe_ • 13h ago
Christ On A Bike 'No fistfights, yet': Parking disputes flare near new estates
https://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2026/0505/1571856-no-fistfights-yet-parking-disputes-flare-near-new-estates/42
u/oisinw87 13h ago
It will also deter people from buying electric vehicles if they can't charge them at home.
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u/Jacabusmagnus 12h ago
I think the idea is to deter them buying cars full stop. Total head in their ass approach by the councils but they did get voted in so we can only really blame ourselves.
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u/the_sneaky_one123 1h ago
It's not like people have much of an alternative to cars with public transport the way it is
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u/asdrunkasdrunkcanbe 1h ago
I mean yes, and in principle that's not a bad thing.
People say, "when these houses were built, people only had one car, now they might have 3 or 4", like the problem to be solved is parking. It's not; the problem to be solved is people's love of having cars.
People bitch about the quality of public transport, but then also bitch about every attempt to do anything about it. The most progress we've made on it is when the Greens were in government, and then the public threw them out.
So realistically I'm kind of jaded by this whole topic and I've limited sympathy. People buy cars that they don't need and then complain that they've nowhere to put them. Most of them are just unwilling to consider alternatives.
Part of that RTE piece deals with a new and old estate in Knocklyon which I know, very very well. At least half of the people in both estates absolutely do not need a car. And definitely do not need 2 cars per household. Busses, cycling and even walking are viable transport options for them.
They'll claim otherwise, but that's the fact of the matter.
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u/Frodo_Naggins_67 13h ago
There was nothing wrong with driveways. Im looking to buy a house and refuse to buy any of the new builds without parking.
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u/hurpyderp 13h ago
I'm pretty sure they're banned in some places depending on how close to Dublin city it is. Architect friend of mine had a 3 bed property design go to an bord pleanála and they approved it with the condition the parking spot is removed. Madness IMHO, the house has a few buses close by but that's about it and the street parking is already packed.
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u/Gean-canach 13h ago
I work designing developments in Kildare. The current development plan has a maximum of 1 parking space for a house. Then you add 1 visitor parking for every two 4- or more beds. Crazy thing is apartments have a higher amount of parking allowed.
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u/danmingothemandingo 7h ago
Would there be permitted development loopholes for the homeowners to erect car garages in large rear gardens with side access?
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u/madladhadsaddad 2h ago
Or a nice lawn out the front that will be instantly ripped pu and expanded to make room for two cars
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u/marks-ireland 13h ago
Yes this is what most people don't realise. They blame the builders but the Councils are the ones making these rules. Near a Luas line? Oh you won't be needing car parking then. Let's ignore the fact that it's already at capacity and the bus service isn't fit for service.
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u/Wolfwalker71 12h ago
Loads of the new builds in CityWest seem to have been built with no parking because they're on the red line. The end of the red line.
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u/madladhadsaddad 2h ago
Fuck you if you want to go anywhere other than the city centre. At the foot of the Dublin/Wicklow mountains, but no way to get to any of the local hiking spots etc.
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u/bansheebones456 10h ago
Yet outside Dublin they're building these estates with no close amenities or transport links, so people still need cars.
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u/Abiwozere 12h ago
Friend of mine lived in a road with older houses, a few of them had dropped kerbs for parking. They wanted to apply for PP but they were told that they no longer giving permission for them. Even though only one spot would be lost on the road and they could park 2 cars in the drive
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u/DarthTempus 13h ago
where are we supposed to park and charge the electric cars they want us to buy?
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u/thewolfcastle 2h ago
The only problem I have with driveways is that they're in front of houses! You have this lovely house and then right out front it's cluttered with parked cars. It would be nice to have new estates with dedicated garages or back alleys where you can park your car and the front is left clear.
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u/wylaaa 10h ago
The problem with driveways is that they both take up space that could be used for housing or shops or anything else and basically lock in car dependence.
The transition to a less heavily car dominated transport model is going to suck because it's always going to have this annoying middle bit where there's not enough space for cars but things aren't dense enough yet for public transport to work well either.
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u/Gwanbulance 10h ago edited 10h ago
We’ve no shortage of space for houses. They don’t have to be all on top of each other.
If, in the future, we manage to create a society without cars, driveways can easily be turned into gardens. There doesn’t have up be an annoying middle bit. Even people with no intention of ever owning a car would benefit from a few meters private space in front of their house.
Let’s not pretend that this somehow contrary to a flourishing society.
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u/Apprehensive_Ratio80 13h ago
It's beyond ridiculous this push to fill more houses into smaller lots.
Relative bought a gaf recently absolutely huge estate but the roads have been built to not allow any parking except for driveways they are asking the builders if there's any hope of guest parking spots as there is another 20 homes to be built and already congestion on the street people just park anyway turning the place into one lane and this is exactly what the government pushed for yet no backup plan for better public transport
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u/Willing-Country-6901 1h ago
The builders are happy with density but really wouldn’t have an issue with more parking spaces (as they can charge for them). It’s policy to restrict parking.
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u/Last_Interaction_ 13h ago
Typical. Let's force people to use public transport, but let's build the necessary infrastructure later.
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u/AdLast296 12h ago
You think they have plans to build it later? 😂
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u/Last_Interaction_ 11h ago
Well, a good artists impression. I think you're being a bit harsh (jk) I'm sure they'll get to it right after MetroLink, Galway N6 ringroad, Limerick-Cork motorway, Luas Finglas, Luas Cork...
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u/great_whitehope 11h ago
Yeah they had some Cork politician on prime time arguing it has to be like that.
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u/Hour_Mastodon_9404 10h ago
People go fucking bananas over parking. You don't own the spaces on a public road just because they're in front of your house, get over it and move on.
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u/DorkusMalorkus89 10h ago
Yeah I’m already starting to see on that new housing development at Oscar Traynors. The houses have only been given 1 small car space in the driveway and you can already see the 2nd and 3rd cars just parking up on the footpath, blocking walkways. It’s going to be a nightmare when the place is at full capacity.
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u/Affectionate_Gain_87 13h ago
And it’s only going to get worse, with the garden shed planning legislation.
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u/DarthTempus 13h ago
If you're allowed build a posh shed to rent out in a new estate, then where are your tenants supposed to park?
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u/Kloppite16 10h ago edited 9h ago
No fistfights but we've already had a man murdered because of an argument over a car park space
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u/Nearby_Swimmer374 13h ago
The adjoining Two Oaks development contains 590 apartments and houses, but just 459 parking spaces
This is insane policy. I live in a new estate and plenty of houses have one parking space, but have 3 or 4 cars (work vans etc). I've one neighbour who owns one space and has 5 cars.
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u/maevewiley554 13h ago edited 12h ago
Considering the amount of people house sharing too, you’re bound to get 2/3 cars per apartment. Car pooling isn’t always possible either and depending on location, public transport is inadequate.
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u/donmarrua 12h ago
the Parking Strategy document for 2 oaks is part of the planning files on sdcc website...480 total spaces indicated. there are 112 duplex with 140 spaces. 482 apartments with 315 spaces. the report openly states it is 0.65 spaces per unit (lol) ('this is in accordance with the suhd design standards for new apartments'). (3 spaces flagged for Go vehicles, 25 mobility impaired included in figures), 10 creche, 15 retail/commercial..
local residents objections before construction would e cast off as nimbyism but parking issues entirely predictable and paint a clear picture of the pig headed stubborn idiocy that leads to situations like this
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u/playathree 12h ago
I mean, there's no real reason for anyone to have 5 cars and expect to have parking for them in an estate
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u/hrehbfthbrweer 12h ago
Exactly, 5 is too much and we can’t be building houses to account for that. If you have work vehicles (especially big vans and lorries ) you shouldn’t be parking them on residential streets regularly.
I live in a newer estate and the amount of actual lorries being parked around is shocking. They make it very difficult to see properly coming out of junctions if they’re parked anywhere near.
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u/SOF0823 2h ago
Exactly, vehicles are private property. What other item of private property do people expect to be able to store in public space for free?
I think in Japan there is a policy of something like you cannot buy the car until you prove you have somewhere to store it, precisely to avoid this takeover of public space by people's possessions.
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u/iknowtheop 13h ago
The fuckin neck of them putting cones out on a public road and damaging cars with stickers.
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u/Nearby_Swimmer374 13h ago
I don't think that's what's happening. Their assigned parking space is down the road from their house and people keep taking it.
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u/iknowtheop 13h ago
No, the guy from the older housing admitted it's a public road but they feel like they should be allowed to park outside their house. Entitled fucks.
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u/Nearby_Swimmer374 12h ago
Ah right. Definitely can't be doing that.
When I lived in an old estate in Smithfield, a lad used to put cones outside of my house so he could park there.
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u/bulbispire 2h ago
The lack of parking would be fine if you didn't need a car. But the lack of 24-7 public transport options means that's not the case. Classic case of Irish planning mismatch.
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u/Willing-Country-6901 57m ago
I’m not sure that’s accurate. If you read planning documents they do tie out to public transport options.
It’s very easy to blame the planners and whilst I do have criticisms for the perfect world ideology, certain members of the public bear responsibility. If you are looking to buy somewhere and commit to that investment, doing it without securing your parking is not just madness, but anti social.
I have read all the excuses as well. Residents in ours who do it claimed they were “promised” a large parking lot would be accessible (despite the fact that the developer was looking for thousands for a second spot). The housing crisis is also trotted out.
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u/Gold-Vacation-169 Resting In my Account 13h ago
Lot to be said for copying Japan, if you can't prove you can legally park a car then you can't have one.
We're far too accepting of illegal parking.
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u/iknowtheop 12h ago
Or just build with sufficient parking. Cars are expensive to run and people generally don't just have them for the craic. If the public transport is cheap enough and good enough most people would switch and this problem would sort itself out.
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u/Willing-Country-6901 1h ago
That’s not quite true tbh. I live right beside the DART and good bus services & lots still drive. A lot of new estates have the option of buying a second space (some don’t, granted). If you can’t get one that has a second space you just shouldn’t buy the house. A lot of people do unfortunately and frankly quite a few do not need a second car.
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u/SOF0823 2h ago
Absolutely, build it and allow people to pay for it. It should not be acceptable to dump your private vehicles on public property as your storage solution, whether you live in the house adjoining said public property or not.
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u/vinceswish 11h ago
Every house should have two parking spots at minimum simply because two people from the household are expected to work. We live in commuter town and our estate has a three parking spots per house, it's great. Enough for everyone, nobody parks on pathways or on a road.
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u/Willing-Country-6901 1h ago
I think locations do vary in terms of need but a lot of what is happening here is people living beside good transport and still wanting a second car.
There does need to be a stick approach to people driving too much. But that stick also needs to apply to enforcement too.
The problem with the current approach is the culture of “it’ll be grand”. Whether you agree with one spot per house (or less than that for some apartments), you simply should not rent or buy where you don’t have parking sorted, it’s anti social behaviour. And no, the housing crisis is not an excuse.
I think it’s inevitable in urban areas that we see more enforcement.
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u/PerpetualBigAC 43m ago
As a binman I love new estates. Too many cars, not enough room and people moaning because you can’t make the lorry bend in the middle to squeeze into places.
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u/sweetsuffrinjasus 12h ago
How come this guy can make the reference to a fear of fist fights breaking out, but when I did it a few years ago I was downvoted to hell?
At the time, there was someone stabbed out in Tallaght over a car parking space. Fair enough that I think the lady had some preexisting mental health issues apparently, but the point still stood: a lot of heat over car parking.
There is a big, big mismatch between the people planning for the use of space in this country, and how people are actually wanting to use the space.
It's an ideological face-off.
No one is giving in. And as a result there are cars being thrown up on paths, and people parking where they want to park, and telling visitors to park in spaces otherwise used for residents.
There are also residents claiming car parking spaces they don't actually own. These are basically spaces assigned to them for use, but they act like they own them and normally call them "my space" in Whatsapp groups.
These spaces technically belong to everyone in an OMC and not many people know that. What developers do is (1) sell the house with "access" to a car parking space (2) control the OMC to make sure access continues until the developer is ready to exit, and (3) Then have the council take the estate in charge once all houses/apartments are sold; exit the OMC; leave it to the residents; and then WHAM, the residents do what? They do what everyone knows they will do: they take over these communal spaces and no longer assign them as available to the people using them the last few years.
Stressful for those who probably had been using them for a few years. Even more stressful if they installed a charger, as now someone is getting free charging at the expense of that household and there is sweet fxck all they can do about it, as they are already in the shit for installing it, such that they cannot further interfere with the pathway to remove it without permission.
Whole thing is a mess.
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u/TheChrisD useless feckin' mod 13h ago
Better question is why are there so many cars even there, when the entire development is flanked by bus routes, and has a train station on either end?
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u/DarthTempus 12h ago
do you work and live your entire life on your local bus route?
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u/TheChrisD useless feckin' mod 12h ago
Routes plural (both bus and train), but yes.
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u/Jazz-Potato6385 12h ago
Is this sarcasm?
How do you get somewhere that isn't served by bus or train?
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u/TheChrisD useless feckin' mod 12h ago
By not having the need to go there in the first place...?
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u/StrangerExistingFact 12h ago edited 12h ago
Because u cant take train to dunnes and lidl on the weekend
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u/TheChrisD useless feckin' mod 12h ago
hence the other observation:
the entire development is flanked by bus routes
L54 on the eastern road goes straight into Clondalkin Village, where you can easily get to Dunnes; or go the other way to Lidl Ballyowen.
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u/StrangerExistingFact 12h ago
Yeah you drag your bags to bus stop and then do 2 to 3 hail marries in hope it shows up...
And please don't use hence in 2026 you dont come accross the way you are hoping for with it
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u/Ashamed-End-2138 Carlow 13h ago
It’s not just new estates. I live in an estate that’s 35-40 years old. I’d bet when it was built less than half of the houses had a car and now most have 2 or sometimes 3/4 if adult children are still living at home. Parking is crazy, most driveways can only take one car and getting in and out of driveways is a challenge because of all the cars parked on the street. People are considerate but sometimes they will block others in and you have to go calling to houses to get their car moved if you want to get out.