Roads and transport: The State should control and operate all future road tolls rather than leaving them in the hands of private companies, according to Fine Gael.
The tolls should only be set at a level needed to regulate traffic flows, cover maintenance costs and to recoup only part of the construction bill.
"There will be only one toll on a major inter-urban route. Multi-tolling in a small country is a nonsense," said FG Dublin South TD Olivia Mitchell.
She said FG would honour existing contracts enjoyed by companies such as National Toll Roads (NTR) on the M50, but only if traffic delays were kept to acceptable levels.
Barrier-free tolling must be introduced immediately on the M50, Dublin's ring road, while extra tolls along its route should be ruled out.
Road builders will get an annual fee from the State rather than the right to levy tolls, while private toll operators should be barred from Irish roads to ensure that motorists and taxpayers are "better served".
"If the economic climate changes and State coffers need private finance back-up, extra financing options must be considered, such as investment from the Pensions Reserve Fund or increased capital borrowings."
Ms Mitchell said Fine Gael would allow private bus companies to service Dublin and other urban bus routes "immediately once we get into office".
Private funding should not be used to pay for the current widening of the M50 "since this is unnecessary in the current economic climate".
Dublin West candidate Leo Varadkar said National Toll Roads had received a plum contract to run the M50 from "Ray Burke and George Redmond. We should not be afraid to say that.
"I do not oppose having to pay tolls, but I do oppose having to queue to pay tolls," said Mr Varadkar, who daily uses the road to get to work in Blanchardstown hospital.
NTR, he said, had invested €57 million to build the two bridges on the M50, but it had so far reaped €317 million in toll revenues.
Criticising Minister for Transport Martin Cullen, Cllr Varadkar said: "I would not trust that man to wash my car."
Former Dublin South East TD Frances Fitzgerald, who will contest the Dublin Mid-West constituency next time, said the Phoenix Park rail tunnel should be brought into commission immediately to increase train services to Kildare.
The owner of the O'Brien sandwich bars company, Brody Sweeney, who will run in Dublin North East, said tens of thousands of people were being forced to use their cars every day because of the lack of public transport.
Cllr Jarlath Munnelly, who is seeking a nomination to run for Fine Gael in Mayo, said school buses should be used to provide rural bus services when they were not being used to ferry children to school. Meanwhile, school transport services should be established in the major cities to keep thousands of cars off the roads.
Meath TD Shane McEntee, who was recently appointed as the party's spokesman on road safety, said 11 people per 100,000 of the population were being killed annually on Irish roads.
This, he said, compared with an international average of six per 100,000.
The Government must concentrate on safety education, enforcement of driving laws and the improvement of Irish roads, he added.
"We built every road in England, we built every road in America. We built every road in Australia," he told delegates.
