No parking of Croagh Patrick charges

No parking of Croagh Patrick charges


The debate about charging for parking at Mayo’s holy mountain rages on. Aoife Gillivan talked to the decision-makers and the public about the rights and wrongs of the situation

Aoife Gillivan

CAR parking charges are to be introduced at Croagh Patrick by July, Mayo County Council has confirmed.
The charges will be on a ‘Pay and Display’ basis, with a rate of one euro for the first hour and fifty cent per hour thereafter.
Revenue from the charge will offset costs incurred by Mayo County Council for the refurbishment of the car park, which amounted to €150, 000, and will fund further maintenance work.
The proposal for the car park charge has been passed by the Westport Electoral Area Committee and will be presented before Mayo County Council at its scheduled June meeting.  
Mayo County Council have said they accumulated high expenses developing and maintaining the Croagh Patrick facility. Speaking to The Mayo News, Cllr Margaret Adams emphasised the reality of maintaining an internationally regarded facility. “People living in the real world know that costs happen. Other tourist attractions in Ireland have charges. Someone has to pay the costs, it’ll either be the tax payer or people who use the facility.”
Over the past seventeen years, the Murrisk Development Association (MDA) have worked to maintain two national sites, Croagh Patrick and the Famine Memorial. They are an organisation unique to the country as they upkeep these national tourist attractions on a voluntary basis.
The MDA were invited to make a written submission by the council regarding the charges, which according to Acting Westport Town Manager, Martin Keating, was supportive of the car park charge and the only submission the Council received on the matter.   
Mr Johnny Groden of the MDA informed The Mayo News that they have yet to officially negotiate with the council on the matter of receiving a percentage of revenue that will be generated by the car park charge.

Voluntary basis
“There is a great value given on a voluntary basis by the Murrisk Development Association, for all agencies, not just the council. At this time, there has been no discussion on a share of the revenue but that isn’t to say that there won’t be.”
Subsequently, local County Councillors have acknowledged the work of the MDA and say there is an arrangement to share revenue with the development association, however, details have yet to be finalised.
The introduction of the charges has aroused some debate between councillors. Westport Town Cllr Keith Martin, of Labour, has expressed criticism of local County Councillors who unanimously backed the motion and has condemned the charges as “backward and short sighted.”
Speculation on whether Murrisk tourism will be affected by the car park charge is rife, especially as visitors must initially cope with holidaying during a recession.
Cllr Martin branded the car parking charge a “stealth tax” imposed by Mayo County Council on Murrisk tourism. He describes the justification of the charge as facetious since “the council spends millions on improving roadways but does not turn them into toll roads to re-coup costs. Visitors will now be charged to climb Croagh Patrick, visit the Abbey or contemplate at the Famine Memorial.”   
Contrary to Cllr  Martin’s statement, Mr Johnny Groden of the MDA stresses the charge is not to climb Croagh Patrick but solely for use of the car park.

‘Things cost money’
Cllr Keith Martin worries the charges will only ‘discourage visitors’ and considers it ‘a real setback’ to the efforts of the Murrisk Development Association.
“Introducing those charges in the middle of the worst recession in history, when tourism is threatened by everything from travel costs to volcanoes smacks of stupidity” added Cllr Martin.
In response to these comments, Cllr Margaret Adams retaliated, “Cllr Martin seems to think everything is to be got with nothing. People who live in the real world know things cost money.”
She denies that people will have a problem with the parking charges as the hourly rate is reasonable and tourists especially are accustomed to paying charges at tourist sites. Mr Johnny Groden dismisses claims that tourism will be majorly affected by the charges. “Tourists in Murrisk will come and go as they have always done.”
Cllr Martin labels the idea of affording to hire a traffic warden to enforce the car park fees as “laughable” and views such an employment unfeasible in relation to the estimated revenue generated by the charges.
“Even part-time the costs involved in hiring and dispatching a warden to Murrisk car park everyday is a joke. It’s only a pity that this car parking charge isn’t a joke too.”

Public opinion
Public opinion from the foot of Croagh Patrick, appear as varied as those from the Council offices.
A group of students from NUI Galway, about to set off on their climb of Croagh Patrick, said they were ‘not surprised’ that the council had formulated a car park charge, labelling the authorities as ‘money grabbing’ and inconsiderate towards the cost of travelling to the area in the first place.
Tourist Ally Brink, from Derry, says she would be willing to pay charges depending on the standard of service provided, including clean toilets and general maintenance.  Local Westport woman, Marlene Davies, condemned the council’s move to charge at Croagh Patrick as it is considered a holy site. She feels people shouldn’t be charged as they come to pray and compares the mountain to Knock Shrine where there are no car parking fees. However, Cllr Adams recognises that the mountain is not exclusively used for spiritual practice while events such as fundraisers and training take place there regularly.   
Local and tourist opinion merges on the same wavelength when the issue of payment method is raised. Currently, the car park charge is set on an hourly basis. Some public opinion feels payment should be standardised at a fixed rate and that the idea of an hourly charge is unfair. The amount of time a car is parked at Croagh Patrick depends on many variables. Consider what pace an individual can climb, how much spiritual contemplation a soul requires on the mountain and even the event of an injury while climbing, inevitably a few costly hours are destined to slip by. Mr Groden declares the issue of an hourly charge a ‘sensitive one’ which requires an approach of ‘common sense’ from the County Council. Cllr John O’Malley understands why people would be upset by the charges but upholds its necessity as the car park facility remains continually abused by all day parking and the establishment of impromptu campsites. 
Once the car parking charges are implemented this summer, locals and tourists alike will be required to pay to park. Perhaps, in the greater scheme of things, the charge will encourage a ‘smarter travel’ to Croagh Patrick and be considered a brainwave of the council’s environmental campaign. It is hoped locally that the silver lining of the charge will be visible in the area and won’t evaporate into the ‘stealth tax’ bracket. Whether for or against the car park charge, its presence is testament to the recessionary times we live in, where pilgrims and prices seem destined to climb together in the future.