Abandoned Vehicles Removal

Laois County Council will request the registered owner of an abandoned vehicle parked in a public place to remove it.

  1. Abandoned Vehicles
  2. What is considered an abandoned vehicle?
  3. How does the Council deal with abandoned vehicles?
  4. Unwanted Domestic Cars
  5. List of authorised treatment facilities in County Laois.

Abandoned vehicles

All complaints of abandoned/burnt out vehicles in a public place i.e. road, footpath or public open space, should be reported to the environment section giving location and details. Reports can be made by:

  • Contacting the environment section on 057 8689315 or leave a message on the litter hotline at 1800 32 32 30
  • Or you can send an email to environadmin@laoiscoco.ie 

It should be noted that the abandonment of vehicles is a prosecutable offence under section 71 of the waste management act, 1996, as amended, with fines up to €5,000 on prosecution.

What is considered an abandoned vehicle?

Complaints relating to abandoned vehicles usually comprise the following:

  • vehicles parked for a long period of time without being used or taxed
  • vehicles being dumped 'overnight' in housing/industrial estates or untaxed
  • vehicles which are burned out, and
  • vehicles which are categorised as stolen vehicles and in bad condition or untaxed

How does the Council deal with abandoned Vehicles?

When the environment section receive a complaint about an abandoned vehicle we must first determine if the vehicle has been abandoned.

To determine if a vehicle has been abandoned one or more of the following factors will be taken into consideration:

  1. is the vehicle untaxed and have no evident details of being on the motor tax register?
  2. is the vehicle stationary for a significant period of time?
  3. is the vehicle a hazard?
  4. is the vehicle significantly damaged, poor state of repair or unroadworthy (flat tyres wheels removed, broken windows etc)?
  5. is the vehicle burned out?
  6. the vehicle is missing registration plates?

The following are not considered to be abandoned: 

  • Vehicles poorly parked 
  • Vehicles involved in residential parking disputes 
  • Broken down vehicles 
  • Vehicles on public roads which are causing obstruction or road safety hazard should be reported to the Gardai. 
  • While a vehicle with no tax or insurance may be an indicator that a vehicle is abandoned, the issue of no tax or insurance on a vehicle on a public road does not automatically deem a vehicle abandoned. Having no tax or insurance on a public road is a matter for the Gardai and does not fall under the remit of Laois County Council. 
  • Vehicles in estates which are owned by persons resident in the estate will not be deemed abandoned.  
  • Vehicles on Private Lands or Private Estates will not be deemed abandoned.  
  • Any vehicles registered outside of the Rep of Ireland should be referred to the Gardai. Please note that some complaints in relation to abandoned vehicles are only traffic issues and you should refer these issues directly to the Gardai. Vehicles that are considered a nuisance are outlined below and are not considered to be abandoned cars:
  • non-registration of a vehicle at the time of sale is an offence and matter for the Gardai.

If a car is deemed to be abandoned 

  • a litter warden will prepare a report on the vehicle at the time of inspection. 
  • ownership of the vehicle is then checked through the Motor Tax Office.
  • once ownership is identified a letter issues requesting the removal of the vehicle. offenders will have 7 days from the date the letter is issued to remove the vehicle.  
  • if there is no response from the owner of the vehicle a notice will be placed on the vehicle advising them that it is deemed to be abandoned.
  • the owner has 4 weeks to remove the vehicle before it will be removed by an agent appointed by the Council.  

The cost of removal and storage of the vehicle will be recovered from the owner of the vehicle.

Unwanted domestic cars

You may deposit your unwanted vehicle at an authorised treatment facility (ATF). The ATF’s in Laois County Council’s administrative area are listed below. 

If dropping off the End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) yourself, please ensure that you get 

  1. a certificate of destruction, 
  2. or if you are having it collected please be sure that the haulier can show you a valid Waste Collection Permit that allows them to collect End-of –Life-Vehicles. If you suspect that they do not have a valid Waste Collection Permit, take their vehicle registration details and report them to the Waste Enforcement Officers on 057 86 64000. Vehicles collected illegally often end up dumped or burnt out and are not safely disposed of.

List of authorised treatment facilities in county laois.

  • A1 Metal Recycling, Mountmellick, Co Laois.
  • Corcorans Auto Body Repairs, Portlaoise, Co Laois.
  • Martin Byrne, Killone, Stradbally, Co Laois.
  • Munnelly Brothers Car Sales Ltd., Arles, Ballickmoyler, Co Laois.
  • Whelan Car Dismantlers, The Heath, Portlaoise, Co Laois.
  • V-Tech Metals & Dismantlers Ltd., Vicarstown, Co Laois.

Further information.

For more information phone the environment section at 057 866 4000 or email environmentadmin@laoiscoco.ie