THIRTEEN MOTORISTS HAVE been handed fines totalling €186,000 after ignoring thousands of warning letters about not paying M50 tolls.

One driver with a record of more than 1,300 unpaid trips on the motorway was fined €25,000 today.

Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), the State agency for road and public transport infrastructure, prosecuted them at Dublin District Court.

Despite getting reams of warning letters and being summonsed, they did not attend the proceedings, which went ahead in their absence.

Judge Anthony Halpin imposed fines ranging from €7,000 to €25,000, to be paid within six months.

He also ordered them to pay €350 in prosecution costs.

Twelve were ordinary private car owners, each with five sample counts for unpaid tolls from February to May.

TII also disclosed the motorists’ overall record of unsettled charges and how most were sent hundreds of warning letters before court proceedings commenced.

In each case, the judge heard the number of unpaid tolls and details of the level of engagement with the motorway operator.

He also noted that they failed to turn up to court.

The TII could demonstrate which motorists, almost half on the court list on Monday tried to pay for some journeys. They received less severe penalties.

The court imposed fines of €15,000 in three cases.

Two van drivers were each handed fines of €25,000 for 99 and 270 journeys.

The owner of a private car with an overall record of 1,302 outstanding tolls in four years was also ordered to pay the same amount. He was sent thousands of warning letters ahead of the prosecution.

TII also wrote to most of them hundreds of times, but they did not respond, despite the prospect of heftier court fines and a possible sentence.

The agency had certificates detailing the registered owners of the vehicles as well as pictures of them passing the toll gantry on specific dates.

Prosecuting counsel Thomas Rice BL (instructed by Pierse Fitzgibbon Solicitors) said the defendants were not in court, but Judge Halpin agreed to his application to proceed in their absence.

Counsel called on a TII witness to confirm each vehicle’s ownership records, the number of passages, and payment history.

The judge heard that most did not engage with the transport agency, and some had recently ceased being owners of the cars subject to the prosecutions.

However, the TII could establish they were the owners at the time of the unpaid tolls.

The court can impose fines of up to €5,000 per charge and a six-month sentence.

However, it remains the practice of the motorway authority to select habitual non-payers to face criminal proceedings.

The standard M50 toll for a private car, €3.20, has to be paid before 8 pm the following day, or there is a €3 penalty for missing the deadline.

Motorists get 14 days to pay for the journey and the initial penalty or face a more significant fee.

The charge ramps up after 56 days; warning letters and court proceedings follow if it remains unpaid.

Commercial and goods vehicle owners pay higher tolls. In all cases, the registered vehicle owner is liable even if they were not driving.