Two hours parking for €1 and 15 minutes free adopted by Tullamore council

Motorists visiting Tullamore will officially be allowed to park for 15 minutes without paying a parking fee in future. Drivers are also to get a second hour of parking free after paying €1 for their first hour of parking in the town. Parking changes were adopted at a meeting of Tullamore Town Council yesterday evening (Thursday, October 11). Proposals were put forward by the council executive and backed by a motion put forward by Fianna Fail's Sinead Dooley. A recommendation for 30 minutes free parking by independent councillor Sean O'Brien was voted down, as was a proposal from Sinn Fein's Brendan Killeavy looking for two hours of free parking in Tullamore on Saturdays. The moves are short of those requested by Tullamore Chamber of Commerce over the past number of months. That group had pushed for 30 minutes of free parking to revive the retail industry in the town. Speaking to Midlands 103 after the meeting Cllr Dooley said the move was the right thing to do and was a "workable solution". She said what was agreed was a compromise, but said she felt the second free hour of parking after paying €1 for the first hour of parking would encourage people back into the town.