PARKING YIELDS €5M PROFIT FOR COUNCIL IN THREE YEARS
WEXFORD COUNTY Council generated revenue of almost €8.5m from 2014 to 2016 from car parking income and related fines.
Total income over the course of those three years stood at €7,716,724 with fines for the same period of time coming to €782,213. In total, 23,128 parking fines were issued in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
The cost of operating the parking service countywide came to €1,241,820 in 2014, €1,052,661 in 2015 and €1,072,733 in 2016 – a three-year total of €3,367,214, leaving an overall profit of €5,131,723.
Wexford town had the highest parking income over the three years.
In 2014, €883,009 was collected through the public parking system. This figure rose to €1,064,446 in 2015 and again to €1,138,189 in 2016. The system generated a total of €3,085,644 in three years.
Gorey was the next most lucrative town when it came to parking charges. In 2014, €663,733 was collected in standard parking income. This figure rose to €690,143 the following year and to €733,912 the year after that. A total of €2,087,788 was generated over the three years.
Enniscorthy collected a total of €1,382,605 over the course of three years. €444,125 was collected in 2014, €456,663 in 2015 and €481,817 in 2016.
Finally, New Ross’s car parking income came to €1,160,686 in the three years from 2014 to 2016. In 2014, €397,328 was collected. This figure fell in 2015 to €364,232 but rose again in 2016 to €399,126.
The highest number of parking fines issued was in Wexford town with 11,629 tickets dished out in three years for improper parking.
In 2014, 4,558 fines resulted in income of €129,787 while in 2015, 3,690 fines generated an income of €136,897.
In 2016, fine income was not broken down by area but 3,381 fines were issue in the town.
Gorey traffic wardens issued 4,909 fines over the course of the three-year period. 1,921 fines in 2014 resulted in income of €20,469 while the following year saw 1,668 fines issued with a resulting income of €59,428. 1,320 fines were issued in 2016.
Enniscorthy saw 4,812 fines issued over the course of three years. In 2014, 1,412 fines realised an income of €51,857. The following year, 1,661 fines were issues, ringing in €52,174. In 2016, 1,739 fines were issued.
Finally, New Ross traffic wardens issued just 1,778 parking fines from 2014 to 2016. In 2014, 690 fines resulted in an income of €20,440. The following year saw a drop in the number of fines issued, to 555, but an increase in income to €28,010. 533 fines were issued in 2016.
The total, countywide income through parking fines for 2016 was €283,151.
A council spokesperson explained that in 2018 Wexford Co Council would spend approximatrely €27.5m on maintenance and improvement of the road network, including urban roads.
They said: ‘We will receive grant aid of €12.4 million towards this expenditure, which means Wexford County Council must fund the balance of €15m from our own resources.
‘Our annual parking income amounts to approximately €3m, with operating costs of approximately €1m. The €2m difference helps to fund the annual shortfall in funding our total roads expenditure – representing approximately one-eighth of that shortfall.’
They added that Wexford Co Council’s parking service was primarily focused on managing available parking resources, both on-street and in public car parks, to encourage turnover of spaces and to ensure the availability of convenient parking for those who visit the four towns for business or other purposes.