Debate contribution: On-street Parking Charges in Lisburn
Debate contribution by Mr Justin McNulty on .
- MLA
- Mr Justin McNulty
- Party at the time
- Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Date
- 11 November 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Adjournment
- Heading
- On-street Parking Charges in Lisburn
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5349814
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Member for Lagan Valley for securing this important topic for debate. My colleague Pat Catney, who has campaigned relentlessly on the issue for many years, will be pleased that it is being discussed as it relates to Lisburn in Lagan Valley. I rise to speak on the matter of on-street parking charges. The issue not only plagues Lisburn but impacts on people in Newry. The people of Newry are required from the outset to pay for on-street parking. Between January 2024 and June 2025, there were 372 parking tickets issued for every 1,000 residents in Newry — the highest number of tickets issued per capita in the North. That over-enforcement is rooted in Newry's controlled parking zone status. That is unfair; plain and simple. Why should people in Newry be subjected to heavy-handed enforcement? Between 2023 and 2025, 763 penalty charge notices were successfully appealed in the Newry, Mourne and Down District Council area. The fact that such a large number of tickets was successfully overturned further emphasises just how excessively such charges are meted out. It should not be the responsibility of the people of Newry or Lisburn to appeal those baseless tickets in order to avoid fines. It is the responsibility of the Minister for Infrastructure to ensure that people are not taken advantage of by overzealous enforcement. In 2021, Liz Kimmins MLA — I thank the Minister for being present here today to hear this important debate — called on the then Minister for Infrastructure, Nichola Mallon, to address the issue. Ms Kimmins stated:
"I believe that allowing for a trial for one hour free on street car parking would be a happy medium between supporting our businesses and enforcing parking. This would provide a more level playing field and support our local businesses who have been hard hit as a result of the covid pandemic, by encouraging increased footfall in our city centre. Newry BID have felt that their views and the views of local traders are being ignored by the Department for Infrastructure as no time-framed review has been agreed to."
Ms Kimmins, the now Minister, said that in 2021. I submitted a question for written answer on the issue. In the answer that was provided on 7 October, the Minister for Infrastructure, Ms Kimmins, stated of the controlled parking zone in Newry:
"I currently have no plans to consider its removal. There are no plans to commence a trial for one hour free on-street parking".
Minister, why the sudden change of heart? Why the volte-face? Why the U-turn? Why change your stance on the issue when you have the power of your ministerial post —
— to implement trial parking?
The one-hour parking zone in Lisburn is exactly the same as the one-hour parking zone in Newry.
Yes, it is the same principle. As the Minister believed in 2021, before she was Minister, we should be trying to uplift local businesses by encouraging people to visit the city centre, not punishing those who do with undue charges. Traders and businesses in Newry are angry about the parking regimes in our city and in Lisburn, which discourage shoppers from coming into those city centres, sending them to other places where parking is more accessible. The Minister is yet to respond to my question for written answer in which I have asked for:
"a breakdown of the total revenue received by her Department, for every one pound spent by consumers on parking, using third-party apps and booking platforms".
Without that transparency, it is hard for people to trust the merits of the parking charges against the cost that is borne by consumers. I call upon the Minister for Infrastructure to stick to her words and to reconsider the controlled parking zone status of Newry and Lisburn. I strongly urge the Minister to support the trial, which she suggested, of one-hour free parking in Newry, Lisburn and other controlled parking areas to achieve the goal of better parking turnover and sharing of urban spaces while allowing people sufficient time to park and enjoy our cities, without charge. Lisburn residents, Newry residents, shoppers, traders and visitors are not asking for anything special; they are asking for fairness. They are asking the Minister to let them compete on a level playing field, with a fair parking policy and one-hour free parking. Minister, be true to your word and introduce one-hour free parking. That is all that we are asking for.
744 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.94).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.04 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.03 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.94 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 1.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:38 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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