Motorists pay million to county council in parking fees

OVER a quarter of a million euro was generated through parking fees and fines paid by motorists parking in Tuam and Athenry last year.
It seems that while the North Galway towns have some of the cheapest parking rates in the country, at 20 cent for 15 minutes, this certainly mounts up, with close to €400 a day being paid for on and off street parking in Tuam alone.
Figures obtained by The Tuam Herald reveal that Galway County Council raised income of just under €134,000 through paid parking on the streets in Tuam and in the council’s car parks.
In Athenry, the figure is considerably less at just over €69,000 but it is still relatively high for a small country town.
Galway County Council has continued to stress the importance of revenue from paid parking in towns and was reluctant to introduce free parking in the towns to help boost trade during Christmas.
However, the move hasn’t hit the Council’s pockets too hard as revenue from on-street parking actually rose by €4,000 last year when compared to 2013.