The confession by the Department for Regional Development(DRD)comes as it is revealed in an assembly answer that drivers from the Republic have clocked up over £700,000 in unpaid parking tickets.

Unpaid

A total of 16,950 tickets were issued between October 2006 and March 2008 to vehicles registered in the Republic.

However, 12,324 are still to be paid, according to NCP, which is now responsible for traffic wardens in Northern Ireland.

Weak

DUP MLA Simon Hamilton accused Regional Development Minister, Conor Murphy of adopting a "weak approach" in comparison to his southern counterparts.

Mr Hamilton claims councils in the border region have contracted a firm to pursue northern motorists who breach parking regulations in the south.

"The total monetary value owed to NCP, some of which is returned to the Department of Regional Development to be re-invested, stands at a staggering £739,620," the DUP man said.

"The Minister's answer also stated that his department cannot pursue vehicle owners from the Republic of Ireland for unpaid penalties because of legal issues surrounding the exchange of vehicle keeper details."

Legal issues

A DRD spokesperson confirmed the department is working to resolve the anomaly.

"Currently DRD cannot pursue southern vehicle owners who are issued with a parking ticket in the north due to legal issues surrounding the exchange of vehicle keeper details which prevents Vehicle Licensing Unit in the south from passing owner/keeper details to the DVA in Coleraine.

"Roads Service officials are working with DVA in Coleraine and the Department of Transport in the south in attempting to resolve this problem," she added.