Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said the increases in road tolls had come as a surprise to Government and “we’re not happy about it”.
Motorists are to be hit with the highest-permitted toll charge hikes – up to 60 cent per journey – across the country’s motorway network within weeks, following a decision to raise tolls in line with inflation.
The State-owned M50 will increase its tolls by just over 9 per cent, while the public-private partnership (PPP) motorways have been allowed to bring in “maximum tolls” allowed under agreements with the State, The Irish Times has learned.
The new prices come into effect on January 1st.
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Mr Varadkar said the setting of tolls was not a Government decision but added the announcement of increases “is very unwelcome”.
He said the issue would be taken up with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) when the details of its proposals are published,
Mr Varadkar, who noted the M50 toll was in his constituency, said the announcement of the increased tolls “came as a surprise to the Government, certainly came as a surprise to me, and we’re not happy about it”.
Later, at a press conference in Dublin, he suggested: “just because the maximum toll is set at a certain rate doesn’t mean it has to be imposed.”
He had been asked if the Government would be seeking a delay in the increased tolls.
Mr Varadkar did not confirm this but said: “I think we have to look at options. Bear in mind the money is used to repair and upgrade the motorways and the cost of doing so has increased. That is the other side of the story.”
He said he had not discussed the matter with Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan who is at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt.
Mr Varadkar added that the news of the increases was “Defintely not welcome, it was a surprise coming at a very bad time and just because the maximum toll is set at a certain rate doesn’t mean it has to be imposed.”
A spokesperson for Mr Ryan, however, suggested the increases were somewhat inevitable, commenting that “toll revenue is used for a variety of purposes, including maintenance of the motorways and the wider national road network, as well as toll operation itself. All tolls on the national road network are regulated through inflation and cannot go above that.
“This year, unfortunately, we have seen the combination of rising inflation and high prices for materials like bitumen for repairs, both largely driven by the war in Ukraine. Prior to 2021, TII hadn’t increased tolls for 7 years. However circumstances have changed utterly and TII really has little option if we are to maintain the standard of our roads and paths.”
Sinn Féin’s David Cullinane, who raised the issue in the Dáil, said rural areas would be hardest hit by the tolls increase. Mr Cullinane blamed the increases on “gold-plated” contracts from the “Fianna Fáil era”.
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín described the increases as “an absolute disgrace”. People are now paying extra tolls for the joy of sitting in traffic for three hours, he said.
“The Government owns the M50 and Eastlink Bridge,” Mr Tóibín said, adding the Tánaiste that “you could scrap those tolls right now if you wished”.
The Meath West TD said that commuters had paid €1.2 billion over the past nine years for M50 tolls and “have paid for this infrastructure 10 times over”.
The president of the Irish Road Haulage Association, Eugene Drennan, expressed disbelief that toll companies would be “so audacious” to announce an increase in tolls at a time when there is a cost-of-living crisis.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s News at One, Mr Drennan said the increase of 10 per cent for trucks would mean an annual increase of between €20,000 to €30,000 for companies in the northwest of the country that have to make the longest journeys.
Many were already leaving the haulage sector because of increased fuel costs, he said.
The toll companies were already making “massive revenue” and did not need to increase costs, Mr Drennan said, adding it was “nonsensical” to do so and was a form of further taxation.
On the same programme the Labour Party’s transport spokesman, Duncan Smith TD, called for a freeze on toll prices.
The increase had come as a surprise to everyone in the Dáil and was not wanted by anyone – the public nor politicians, Mr Smith said.
The State owned the roads and had a duty to inquire why the increase was being introduced, he said, adding it could not be taken “as a given” that prices had to go up.
