ENNISKILLEN drivers have been handed more parking tickets than their fellow motorists in Omagh in the first nine months of this year.
So far this year, from January to September 2017, a total of 3,588 parking penalty charges were issued in Enniskillen compared with the 3,447 which were processed in Omagh.
While Omagh had more tickets issued for off-street parking, such as car-parks, at 1,900 compared to Enniskillen’s 1,708, when it came to on-street parking Enniskillen had the most issued, with 1,880 compared to Omagh’s 1,547.
Once again the narrow margin between the two towns in this year’s figures to date does not reflect the significant population difference between them. However so far 2017 appears to be an improvement on previous years, when significantly more fines were issued in Enniskillen than Omagh.
Fermanagh and Omagh District Council (FODC) are responsible for off-street parking while the Department of Infrastructure deals with on-street penalties. The figures were released by DfI on the total number of Penalty Charge Notices (parking fines) issued in the North from January to September 2017.
The statistics also showed that twelve per cent of all off-street car parking fines (9,872) were issued in the Fermanagh and Omagh district council area
In January, the then-Infrastructure Minister Chris Hazzard announced that towns with an average of less than ten tickets issued a month would be having their parking patrols withdrawn.
This would have included both Irvinestown and Lisnaskea, however both towns have had tickets issued in the past nine months.
Irvinestown has had a grand total of 89 penalty notices issued so far this year while in Lisnaskea, 56 have been issued up to September.
One unlucky motorist was handed a ticket in Kesh in September while 34 tickets have been issued in Fivemiletown.
Overall 3,734 parking fines have been issued in Fermanagh to date for on and off-street parking.
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