Bid To Replace APCOA With Community Wardens Met With Resistance From Kildare County Council

Tuesday, 24 February 2026 15:56

By Martin Osborne

Council officials said the approach has already been tried in Kildare and “did not prove to be an efficient use of resources.”

Kildare County Council has pushed back against calls to replace its private parking contractor with a new community warden model - warning the move would be costly and could weaken enforcement.

The proposal, from councillors Evie Sammon, Kevin Duffy, William Durkan, Brendan Wyse and Ivan Keatley, comes ahead of the imminent end of APCOA Parking Ireland Limited’s contract.

They urged the council to examine a system similar to Dublin and Cork, where wardens have wider powers covering parking, litter and dog fouling.

However, council officials said the approach has already been tried in Kildare and “did not prove to be an efficient use of resources.”

They warned that combining duties would reduce the consistent on-street presence needed to ensure compliance with parking bye-laws.

Currently, APCOA manages enforcement in seven pay-parking towns - Athy, Celbridge, Kildare, Leixlip, Maynooth, Naas and Newbridge - while council wardens oversee three maximum-stay towns and the wider county.

Officials also highlighted major cost implications of bringing services in-house, including new payment systems, cash collection, IT infrastructure and extra administrative staffing.

Instead, the council plans to proceed with a new procurement process through the Office of Government Procurement framework.