Two car parks in Cork will have their rates hiked by an average of 20% by Cork City Council, as part of its ‘revised’ charges from early September.

The parking garages on Paul Street and North Main Street, owned and operated by City Hall, have increased some rates by as much as 30% in some cases, with a significant rise in the price to use the two multi-storey car parks.

From Wednesday, September 2, the two car parks will have increased rates across the board, from hourly charges to overnight rates, as part of the first price hike imposed by the city council since February 2022.

As part of the changes, the first hour at North Main Street car park, which has 330 spaces, will rise from €2.30 to €3, an increase of over 30%, while subsequently hourly rate will also increase, from 16% to 21% in some cases.

The flat nightly charge (From 6.30pm to 9.30pm) will also rise from €3 to €3.50.

It’s the same at Paul Street, where the flat night rate, from 5pm to midnight, rises from €4 to €5, a 25% increase in price, while the charge from 1-2 hours increases from €5.40 to €6.50, a 20% price hike.

It’s the larger of the two council-owned car parks, with 759 spaces in total.

On average, North Main Street’s prices are due to increase by over 20%, while the nearby Paul Street car park will now cost almost a fifth more to park your car on average.

“The revised tariffs will come into effect on September 2 and apply to both council-operated multi-storey car parks,” said a Cork City Council spokesperson.

“Income generated from the car parks support the operation, maintenance and improvement of services and amenities within the city.

“Cork City Council will continue to provide the best value city centre parking with our new rates being 80c to €1.50 cheaper per hour than comparable private parking facilities”

By comparison, the Grand Parade car park, run by Q-Park, costs €4.50 for the first hour, and rises to €17.20 for up to four hours, compared to €14 at Paul Street, and €15.20 at Merchant’s Quay car park, run by APCOA.

However, the new pricing now ironically puts the evening flat rate at Paul Street €1 (20%) more expensive than for the same time period at Q-Park’s City Hall car park.

Cork City Council has also confirmed that on-street parking charges will remain as they are.