Plans to charge motorists fines instead of clamping their vehicles have been approved by members of Dublin City Council's Transport Committee.
Motorists get charged €80 when their vehicle is clamped for breaches, such as parking in bus lanes.
However, they could instead face fixed penalty notices for €40 under certain circumstances.
Parking Enforcement Officer Dermot Stevenson presented a report that pointed out problems with the clamping system.
He said bus lanes or cycles tracks remain disrupted by a clamped vehicle and if a tow truck is called to remove it, the offending motorist can drive off in the meantime without any penalty.
When a number of vehicles are parked together, such as outside a commercial area, once clampers start to disable one vehicle it gives time for the other motorists to remove theirs, he said.
Mr Stevenson stressed that the fixed penalty is just another option to be used and would not replace clamping.
He said 10% of the staff in the clamping company DSPS would operate the new system for a 12-month trial period.
Some councilors, including Fianna Fáil's Deirdre Heney, asked that parking bays on clearways be coloured differently to alert motorists to the fact that their cars had to be removed at a specific time.
The meeting voted to send on the proposals to a full council meeting.
