A request was made to Fermoy Town Council to extend free parking to all areas for the coming bank holiday weekend and the August bank holiday to encourage shoppers into the town.

The call came at a recent town councl meeting from Cllr Noel McCarthy who is also chairman of Fermoy Business Action Group.

Town clerk, Pauline Moriarty pointed out however, that Sundays and bank holidays are already free and that extending free parking to the two Saturdays of the June and August bank holiday weekend would result in a loss of income to the local authority. “It’s money we can’t spend,” she pointed out. She undertook to look at the amount of revenue that would be lost.

She then referred to an earlier discussion they’d had about litter on the streets after bank holiday weekends in which the idea of putting extra council street cleaners to work on the bank holiday Mondays was mooted. “You want me to pay men to clean the street and cut parking charges. You tell me where to take the money from!”, she asked.

It’s understood the town clerk subsequently wrote to Cllr McCarthy advising that the loss of revenue for each of the two bank holiday Saturdays would be €500 and inviting him to suggest where the loss to the council’s coffers could be made up. The town clerk informed The Avondhu on Tuesday that no decision had been reached as she had to discuss it with the town manager and mayor.