Reading in a local newspaper recently of
the €673,000 net profit made by Newbridge Town Commissioners from pay parking
reminded me of the explanation offered by Council officials when it was first
proposed to bring pay parking to Athy.
Its purpose, the then Urban Council members were informed, was to better
regulate traffic and was not a revenue collection exercise. I did not believe the explanation then and am
still not convinced having seen the implementation of pay parking in Athy in recent years. Indeed, since the scheme was first brought in,
the pay parking areas have been extended and the parking fees have been
substantially increased. This does not
to me seem to reflect the need to regulate traffic, rather confirms that its purpose
is to raise revenue.
The Town Council as successors to the
Borough Corporation which was abolished in 1840 is of course following a well
trodden path in extracting money from those with business to transact in
Athy. The former Borough Council collected
custom and tolls on fair and market days following the granting of a charter by
Henry VIII in 1515. They continued to be
collected up to the 19th century.
Initially the customs and tolls were let each year to the highest
bidder, with the successful person having the sole right to collect them within
the town on market and fair days. In the
latter years of the Borough Council’s existence the tolls were collected by
toll collectors appointed and paid for by the Council. However, the tolls and customs collected were
handed over to the Duke of Leinster, on whose authority it cannot now be
ascertained.
Another source of finance were charges for
cranage. A public weighing scales was
located in the Market Square and to it came the farmers and dealers who bought
and sold their produce by weight. The
schedule of cranage charges for 1817 shows that a half penny was charged for
weighing corn, malt, flour, butter, wool hides, coals and culm under 100 lbs.
weight and one penny over that weight.
Potatoes were weighed free of charge, while one penny was paid for
weighing meat carcasses.
By 1824 the town of Athy had taken to
itself additional fairs held on various dates throughout the year, while to the
Tuesday market operated by charter the town now added a market on
Saturdays. However, the markets were
particularly handicapped by the imposition of tolls at the toll gates on the
Dublin Road and the Kilkenny Road. The
resulting falloff in business no doubt prompted the Duke of Leinster in 1824 to
propose to the Borough Council the abolition of customs and tolls collected on
his behalf on the two weekly market days.
Taxes were still to be imposed and collected on fair days, while on
market days coal and culm were still to be subject to custom. The Duke’s proposal also provided for the
retention of the cranage charges which he suggested could finance a scale of
payments for the various corporation officials, while an extra half penny
custom on coal and culm was to fund a salary for the Town Sovereign.
The Borough officials in 1824 and the
salaries which they were paid or shared were :-
Deputy Sovereign £30.0.0.
Town Clerk £11.7.6.
Billet Master £ 2.5.6.
3 Sergeants at
Mace £6.16.6.
Bellman £ 2.5.6.
Weighmaster at
Crane £15.0.0.
Weightmasters
helpers £ 5.0.0.
Weight master
(Coal and Culm) £10.0.0.
Receivers on Fair
days £1.10.0.
3 Assistants on
Fair Days £1.10.0.
4 Collectors at
other Custom Gates £ 3.0.0.
4 Assistants £1.10.0.
Collector of
Market Square £1.10.0.
At least the early 19th century
town folk had some idea where the tolls and taxes collected on fair and market
days were spent. Unfortunately the same
cannot be said for the very generous parking fees now collected by the current
Town Council. Indeed, come to think of
it, I have never seen any mention of the amount collected each year in parking
fees by the local Council. Do you think
we might be told what is collected and how the money is spent?
Congratulations to the organisers of
tri-Athy which was yet again blessed with good weather. It was by all accounts a very successful two
day event and the craft fair held in the grounds of White’s Castle on the
Saturday added further colour and interest to the weekend’s activities. I believe the craft fair will be held every
Saturday giving the grounds of White’s Castle a new lease of life and one which
those who languished in the cells of the former prison could never have
anticipated. The Sunday morning Farmers
Market seems to be going through a difficult period at this time and needs the
townspeople’s support if it is to develop.
It would be a shame if either the Farmers Market or the Craft Fair were
not to succeed.
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