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CONVERSATIONS ABOUT DELAYING or scrapping the toll price hikes announced earlier this week need to be had by the Government, junior minister Hildegarde Naughton has said.
On Thursday, toll road operator Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) announced that it would be hiking toll prices on nine roads in line with inflation, with the M50 toll set to rise by 20 or 30 cent.
Speaking to reporters at the Fine Gael Ard Fheis, Minister of State at the Department of Transport Hildegarde Naughton said that the decision to increase the toll charge was made by the TII and that the Government believed it to be poor timing.
“Certainly from the government’s point of view, the timing of this is not good when we’re looking at cost of living measures,” Naughton said, adding that there will be engagement between the TII and the Government.
When asked if the Government would ask the TII to either delay or scrap the increase, Naughten said: “I think these are conversations that really need to happen now.”
“What we don’t want to do is give with one hand and be taking with another, so these conversations have to happen in relation to how we can manage this.”
In a statement earlier this week, TII defended the M50 toll increase, saying that deferring the increase would have lead to funding from other roads being reallocated.
“The M50 is a user pay funded motorway, through a barrier-free tolling system. TII is required under legislation to maintain a safe and efficient network of national roads and the M50 toll funds the maintenance and operation of the M50.”
“A deferment of the toll increase on the M50 would have required funding to be reallocated from other national road projects and reduce funding for asset management and renewal activities.”
Tadgh McNally will be following all the latest events at the Fine Gael Ard Fheis in Athlone. Get all the updates by following @TadghMcN and @thejournal_ie on Twitter.
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There is very little justification for entering into these public-private partnerships where the private company end up recouping their initial investment many times over within just a few years. They represent a poor deal for the State in terms of lost revenue. Surely borrowing the money would be more cost-effective?
@Sean: no brown envelopes that way
@Sean: Have a look at who’s invested in those private companies, that’s the reason right there. We’re being scammed.
@Sean: and have you evidence that they are recouping their investment ‘many times over’? The truth might surprise you.
@Aileen Lawlor: I’m not the one who made the claim. Let them produce the evidence.
All tolls charges should be scraped, we pay enough Taxes.
@Jimmy Pea: yes, let’s scrape those taxes.
Surely the revenue from the already paid for East link will cover a percentage of the proposed hike.
@The Bolt: Its been paid for many, many times over by now. That hike would be nice to get a ministers kids some PS5′s.
Every single penny of profit from tolls going into accounts setup and based in The Isle of Man as there would be absolute uproar if everyone was able to see the huge profits being made!
A classic case of the government upping prices with a flimsy excuse and without a backup plan for the public, forcing them to pay.
Clondalkin to Blanchardstown will take you 15-20 minutes by car on the M50, but well over an hour if you take public transport merely because there’s no direct route. Between 2 of the largest areas outside the M50 and 10k away from each other.
The toll bridges have been paid for many times over, and maintaining the roads isn’t going to be an arduous task with the heap of money currently being raked in.
“May”?? How about tell Eamonn Ryan to sort it out.
@Will Roche: he’d turn it into a bicycle lane
@Will Roche: Eamon told TII to do it
@Jonny Spuds: you’d be quicker getting from Bray to the Airport on the M50 on your bicycle most days…
There is no realistic and economic reason for an increase. Costs have not risen, there is no competition and they are already making huge profits. In fact the opposite should be the case, they should be handing money back to the government coffers
@BadBob: The contracts these PPP have is if the tolls don’t get a set amount of vehicles, passing through the government pay the PPP companies the difference.
But if the companies make a profit, the government doesn’t get a bean.
@BadBob: Are you living in the same country where prices are rising. I presume you mean none of the workers are getting paid any more since the last toll increase and on your planet, there is no construction/road maintenance inflation. I want to live where your fuel costs to move all this man and material does not exist. What world has competition for toll gate revenue- we already have different toll road operators. Maybe your world has no extra traffic congestion, car use and naturally road maintenance overheads. The cash for the eastlink already goes to DCC. The westlink funds pay the not insignificant ripoff price paid to take it public.
They don’t want to give with one hand and take with the other yet that’s what they have been doing for years so why stop now!
Why don’t the government call for fuel price reduction. Diesel in many areas €1.99 ltr yet I happened to get diesel at €1.80 ltr. Cost reduction not getting passed on and gouging by large forecourt operators going on
The result of the out-source-everything ideology of current parties in power. As with all other utilities, we are expected to pay for the cost of supply plus a hefty profit for one or other of the in crowd. When is the GE?
Only justification for M50 charge would be if they where actually building a secound level for more cars and a light rail system.
Can somebody in RTE please find the LLS interview in which Gay Byrne specifically asked (the week of the East Link Toll launch) how long we’d be paying. He was told that as soon as the cost of the bridge was paid (estimates suggested no more than ten years), the toll payment would be scrapped. That was a hell of a lot longer than ten years ago.
@Ernie Gallagher: Dublin City Council said they need the money so voted to retain the toll
Ye right.
Everyone who uses the road should pay, not just at a point you cross. If it goes to upgrading / maintaining the roads then put a 20c toll and relevant increase per vehicle, so at every bridge and capture all users, with a cap at the current price.
Ridiculous you only pay to use at a point. Get off before and drive around.
Can’t believe this government just keep hiking up prices and try to put a good face on it saying it’s. Ot the right time, like they are doing something positive by not letting hike happen just now.
Idiots.
@Rafa Condron: What the f. We have already paid for these roads and bridges you talk about. We are paying for their upkeep with every wage packet. This is about tolls from private companies making massive profits already and trying to make more…. Bull when they say it’s for increased upgrades, etc. That’s only a percentage of the money they make
@Rafa Condron: It’d cost you more to drive around.
We are all part of the rich man’s game of chess!! And we ain’t winning!
They’ll “call for them to be scrapped” and then they’ll say they tried when nobody listens
We are all part of the rich man’s chess game! And we ain’t winning!
have your say