Nearly 90 lorries took part in the Irish Road Haulage Association's "National No Pay Day" of protest at the M4 toll plaza near Enfield, Co Meath, yesterday, closing the new motorway to heavy goods vehicles, but leaving six lanes for smaller vehicles undisturbed.
While 89 trucks was somewhat fewer than the "100 each side" forecast by hauliers, toll operator Eurolink said the real number which took part was probably even fewer.
Monitoring the numbers of lorries which ultimately refused to pay the toll as they moved through the toll booths at the end of the protest, Eurolink said 65 lorries had either refused to pay or signed a promissory note, while 24 had simply paid up.
The company, which has the concession to operate the tolls for the next 30 years, said the figures indicated that at least 24 of the 89 lorries "were simply caught up in the protest and couldn't get through".
A spokeswoman said a number of other lorries and cars had avoided the toll plaza by leaving the motorway at Kilcock and driving to Enfield before paying a toll on the ramp to join the motorway there.
"It was so well flagged that we feel a lot of people avoided the toll plaza altogether," she added. "Traffic figures were 20 per cent down for Monday morning."
Eurolink said it was always willing to talk to the hauliers but was not going to reduce the toll charge of €6.20 for a heavy goods vehicle. As lorries started arriving at the plaza from about 7am, Eurolink said any breaches of the law would be a matter for the Garda.
During a two hour stand-off, as the lorries formed orderly queues from the toll booths, hauliers spokesman Jimmy Quinn questioned the business case for the new motorway, insisting "the market will decide what the toll rate should be".
A lorry coming from Galway to Dublin's south docks would in future be faced with tolls at Ballinasloe, Enfield, the West Link and the East Link to get to the south port. "It is just not economical, they won't do it," he said.
The "huge investment" in the new motorway would never work unless the market decided what the rates would be. "With a saving of a few minutes, €6.20 is not worth it," he concluded.
At the top of the queue of lorries was Garry Smullen (22) Kilcullen, Co Kildare, who said the firm for which he worked had 24 trucks on the road and the toll was "way too high". He said the costs on the business of going to Dublin's docks and then to Dundalk where the M1 toll would be encountered was just too high. He believed most lorries were already switching back to the old N4 "because the traffic is not as bad there now".
As he approached the barrier, Mr Smullen was asked by the assistant to pay €6.20 but he replied "I can't. The boss said not to."
In the next lane John Nestor also refused. Mr Nestor told reporters he was so annoyed by the ban he had come out of retirement for the protest.
