MS sufferer taken to prison for unpaid parking fine

A man with multiple sclerosis who displays a disabled driver badge in his car was arrested and taken to Cork Prison in his wheelchair after refusing to pay a €40 parking fine.

David Tyrrell, from Midleton, Co Cork, spent 15 minutes being processed at the jail before being allowed to leave.

He branded the entire process a disgraceful waste of taxpayers’ money, with estimates putting the cost of courts, gardaí, and prison officials’ time on the case at close to €9,000.

“All of this for a €40 fine. It’s just crazy,” he said.

Mr Tyrrell, who was diagnosed with MS about eight years ago, walks with the aid of two canes, and has to use a wheelchair when his condition affects his balance.

He told the Neil Prendeville Show on RedFM yesterday that he received the fine after parking his car off Cornmarket St in Cork City some months ago. He said he wasn’t parked illegally.

He said as he walked back to the car using his canes, he explained to the traffic warden that a disabled driver’s badge was on display in his car. But he said the warden replied: “I don’t fucking believe you — everyone in this country can have one of those.”

Mr Tyrrell refused on principle to pay the fine and contacted the local authority. He was summonsed to court to pay an increased €90 fine but he said that, following a worsening of his MS, he was hospitalised when the court case was heard.

A garda arrived at his home a few weeks ago with a warrant for his arrest, and took him in his wheelchair to Cork Prison. When it was discovered that his 21”-wide wheelchair wouldn’t fit into a prison cell, he was photographed, fingerprinted, and allowed to leave. His wife took him home.

“It took me longer to get up and down from home than I was actually in the prison,” he said.

Cork City Council was not available for comment on the case.