A LEADING Co Kerry solicitor's firm has been appointed by the National Roads Authority (NRA) as the enforcement agent for the electronic toll system to be introduced on the M50 at the end of the month.
Pearse & Fitzgibbon, which won the contract, already provides prosecution and debt recovery services to the Revenue Commissioners, ESB, Bord Gáis and around 240 credit unions.
From August 30th, the bottleneck of barriers on the M50 will be removed and replaced with a system that can read electronic toll tags.
Irregular users of the M50 who opt not to get an electronic tag have until 8pm the following day to pay by phone. If they do not, the fees increase over the next eight weeks until the file is passed over to Pearse & Fitzgibbon.
Under the Roads Act 2007, evading a toll is a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to €5,000 and/or a jail term of up to six months. This legislation also allows for unpaid tolls to be recovered from motorists as a civil debt, as an alternative to a criminal prosecution.
In a statement last night the NRA said it intends "in general, to pursue most toll evaders under the civil proceedings route, seeking recovery of the unpaid toll amounts, plus penalty tolls and costs."
Under this system Pearse & Fitzgibbon will issue a civil summons to the toll evader. If the driver fails to pay, a decree for the amount owed will be issued by the Courts Service, which could result in the debt being registered against the individual and may impact on their credit record.
The system will use vehicle registration details stored by the National Vehicle and Driver File (NVDF) in Shannon to identify those who do not pay.
While a British Government report raised questions last week over the accuracy of address data on the driver file, the Department of Transport said the vehicle file, which will be used for electronic tolling, "is fit for purpose and very accurate. It is updated daily".
As of yesterday, the NRA said almost 65,000 drivers had registered with one of the eight tag providers and the authority said it was hoping to see a further 10,000-12,000 register by the end of the month.
Tag holders pay €2 every time they use the M50 and an administration fee. Around 5,000 irregular users have pre-registered and €2.50 will be deducted from their credit card whenever they pass.
