Parking Permits for Public Health Nurses Pitched by County Councillor

There are calls for a special parking permit for public health nurses in County Wexford.

The issue was raised by councillor Nicky Boland who says a nurse who was tending to a dying patient, returned to her car and discovered it had been fined.

He wants to see instances like this eliminated as a gesture of goodwill to frontline workers.

Councillor Boland explains how his system would work.

"The HSE would give a list of car registrations belonging to the nurses in County Wexford and in exceptional circumstances, like the birth of a new born or palliative care or end of life, there would be a parking exemption in Wexford car parking areas."

Councillor Boland says the scheme could be expanded if it proves successful but outlines why public health nurses should get it first.

"These are the ultimate frontline workers, I absolutely have the utmost time for all healthcare workers but these nurses have to carry life saving equipment.

"Sometimes they don't have time to look for a parking place in a built up area while they're trying to save somebody's life."

The issue was previously put forward after the pandemic but never came to fruition.

Councillor Boland is confident people will take this in the right spirit and any chancers will be caught.

"(The nurses) would have to be on duty, and not necessarily have to name anyone or the address but have a genuine way of showing that they were attending an emergency."

Wexford County Council would be one of the first areas to introduce something like this and Councillor Boland says it would be an honour to lead the way.

"I think it would show Wexford County Council in a very good light with the public and it might be a nice follow on for other counties maybe to take a step forward if this works for us".

This report was funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.