Making more car parks in Enniskillen 'pay and display' areas is tantamount to a 'stealth tax' according to Councillors in Fermanagh.

The issue raised its' head at Monday night's meeting of Fermanagh District Council, when Councillors declared that, never before, had an issue generated so much correspondence from concerned members of the public. Councillor Domhnall Ó'Cobhthaigh, Sinn Féin, called for the Council to organise a public meeting, which Roads Service representatives should be invited to attend, to allow members of the public to voice their concerns. He further called for the Council to make their objections to the proposals known. This proposal was unanimously backed.

Councillor Ó'Cobhthaigh added: "This is another stealth tax on workers and makes little if any sense from a perspective of encouraging the use of public transport.

"I would be in support of efforts to encourage the use of public transport, but taxation without a viable alternative is inappropriate."

Frank Britton, SDLP, explained that the Queen Street car park was used almost exclusively by people who worked in the surrounding area. Many of these people, he suggested, were paid at the lower end of wages and the additional charge would be a burden for them.

Mr Britton said the change would also have a knock-on effect, causing 'fly parking' in other areas, particularly in the grounds of the Erne Hospital, or the Riverside area of the town.

And, he submitted that the problems this would create was already seen in the grounds of the Lakeland Forum where workers park their car for the entire day, leaving it difficult for people using the leisure centre to get a space.

Independent Councillor, Gerry McHugh said the matter needed to be addressed fairly soon: "Workers are already paying one-third of their wages on tax, another £700 on top of that for parking seems draconian."

Councillor Thomas O'Reilly, Sinn Féin, felt that Enniskillen had a particular problem with traffic congestion: "We are very short of car parking spaces.

"At any one time, there seems to some traffic travelling through the town while everyone else is just driving around looking for a parking space."

He argued that the problem was exasperated by the lack of public transport in the county: "I don't want to see a situation where people have to park out of town without public transport to get them there.

"We don't have the facilities to put in a park and ride scheme."