SEVENTEEN CAR OWNERS have been hit with fines totalling €405,000 after failing to appear in court and ignoring hundreds of warning letters about overdue M50 tolls.

Judge Anthony Halpin criticised the no-show defendants for their “intransigence” today at Dublin District Court and imposed fines of up to €25,000.

One motorist – just one of two defendants who turned up to plead guilty – was fined €400 and ordered to pay another €200 in prosecution costs after he racked up 749 unpaid tolls in five years.

Jonathan Lyons, of 16 Virginia Park, Finglas, Dublin, had the highest number among the cases. Despite the conclusion of his criminal proceedings, the unemployed father of two still owes thousands of euros to eFlow, which operates the barrier-free tolling system for Transport Infrastructure Ireland.

Lyons had been prosecuted previously. Judge Halpin asked him how he had managed to repeat the same offence, paying for 17 out of 766 journeys.

“Obviously, I should have been paying,” he admitted, explaining how he got letters at first showing €3.70 for each toll, but which eventually increased to €200.

He claimed that when he tried to settle the debt, he could not pay the requested €600 a month because his family would “go hungry”.

However, he agreed with the judge, who commented, “This is your own doing”.

Judge Halpin told Lyons this was a “deliberate ploy” not to pay, given he had a previous conviction for the same offence. He said that made it much more serious but remarked, “You can’t get feathers off a frog’s back”, noting Lyons’s inability to pay.

A mother of six with a record of 488 outstanding tolls was also given a nominal fine of €350 but still has a €48,000 debt, Judge Halpin was told.

Judge Halpin commented that 90 per cent of motorists do not engage with the court proceedings, and due to their intransigence, others had to pay for the upkeep of the roads. He explained that was the reason for the severe fines frequently imposed on defendants who do not engage.

Prosecutions proceeded against seventeen motorists, all private car owners, who were fined €405,000 in absentia after they ignored their scheduled hearings. Some 16 of them received maximum fines of €25,000.

The court heard that in most of these matters, the registered car owners made little or no attempt to pay their tolls after being sent hundreds of warning letters, which mostly went unheeded.

The no-show defendants were also ordered to pay the fines and €350 costs within three months.

Prosecuting counsel Thomas Rice (instructed by Pierse Fitzgibbon Solicitors) said all except one defendant face five sample counts for journeys from May to September last year, and the prosecutions could proceed.

The witness confirmed each vehicle’s ownership records, the number of passages, and payment history.

There was also evidence showing they were the registered owners at the time.

The court also saw images of all the vehicles passing the toll gantry.

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

However, the motorway operator’s practice is to prosecute habitual non-payers.

The standard toll for a private car is now €3.70, which must be paid before 8 pm the following day, or there is an added penalty.

Surcharges ratchet up after 56 days, followed by warning letters and court proceedings if it remains unpaid. Commercial and goods vehicle owners pay more, and registered owners are liable.