Popular Galway cleric Fr. Dick Lyng makes the national newpapers today over his comments in last Sunday's parish newsletter describing car clampers as "miserable, mean-spirited little Hitlers". It may seem extreme but there isn't a person in Galway who doesn't know someone who has had their car clamped - often for leaving a car in a illegal space for a few minutes only. While nobody denies that clamping is essential in order to ensure orderly traffic in the city, a certain level of flexibility should be expected - particularily in the case of cars which aren't actually proving an obstruction or a hazard. Our elected representative in the City Council don't seem to care too much about this situation - indeed it suits them to claim that they have no control over the clamping company who are merely following the terms of their contract. The fact that interests in said company also alledgedly control several of the paid multi-story carparks in the city would be ironic if it were not a conflict of interest that stinks to high heaven.