A veteran taxi driver has been cleared of not bringing passengers on the shortest journey from Dublin Airport to Temple Bar after demonstrating to a court that the longer route he picked was cheaper.

Long ago, taxation ceased to be a simple matter of raising money so that a government could rule and redistribute wealth if they thought it necessary.

Update 10.47am: The Dublin Port Tunnel has now fully reopened both ways following a truck fire.

More than €40.5m has been paid by the State over the past seven years to the operators of two toll roads due to lower-than-expected traffic volumes.

Motorists could be facing increased toll charges for using the M50 Westlink crossing and Dublin Port Tunnel as a result of a ruling from the EU’s top court this week.

M50 toll charges could go up to €3.20 per journey if the EU gets its way.

A fire at the Dublin Port Tunnel has closed both the North and South Bores, leading to major traffic delays.

Dublin residents living along the route of a planned €20m aviation-fuel pipeline to Dublin Airport have raised safety concerns.

Independent TD Clare Daly yesterday described an attempt to prosecute her for a minor motoring offence as a "distraction" from her work highlighting malpractice and injustice.

Independent socialist TD Clare Daly today described an attempt to prosecute her for a minor motoring offence as a distraction from her work highlighting malpractice and injustice.

Independent socialist TD Clare Daly appeared in a court in Dublin yesterday to plead not guilty to an offence of driving without reasonable consideration.

Independent socialist TD Clare Daly appeared in a court in Dublin today to plead not guilty to an offence of driving without reasonable consideration.

A new direct passenger car ferry service linking Dublin with the French port of Cherbourg is being introduced by Irish Ferries.

The Government has promised to introduce legislation for a “zero-tolerance” approach to illicit drug-driving as well as motorists whose driving is impaired by the use of prescription medicines.

NOT SO long ago, I found a sticky note on my desk asking me to ring back someone with an unfamiliar name,described in a scrawl as a TV producer working on a new series.

The National Roads Authority has been slated after briefing Cork’s city councillors on contentious proposals to privatise the management of the Jack Lynch Tunnel.

The local authority that manages the Jack Lynch tunnel in Cork has been urged to compete against the private sector for the tender to run it as part of a single contract with the Dublin Port tunnel.

The National Roads Authority is expected to suffer a net loss of up to €6m from the operation of eight toll roads on the motorway network this year.

The National Roads Authority has ruled out the introduction of tolls on the Jack Lynch Tunnel.

OPERATORS of Dublin Port Tunnel are making a loss of €5 million a year, despite a 10% rise in traffic.

The cost of tolls on some motorways around the country is expected to rise by 10c in the new year.

BUSINESS leaders and Christmas shoppers will breathe a deep sigh of relief at a decision, by the NRA (National Roads Authority), to postpone planned safety woks on the Jack Lynch Tunnel.

ONE of the country’s busiest tunnels and link roads, between the north and south of Cork city, is to close every night for up to six months for work to bring it into line with new EU fire regulations.

THE National Roads Authority has been criticised for taking almost three years to install emergency phones on a motorway in Co Clare while the authority still stands accused of failing to complete the route to the “highest safety standards.”

The National Roads Authority (NRA) is rejecting proposals to allow taxis to use the Dublin Port tunnel for free.

The National Roads Authority has agreed to absorb extra VAT charges due to take effect next week on State-owned tolls in Dublin.

The Automobile Association (AA) has today criticised plans to impose a 21% VAT rate to State-owned tolls at the West-Link Toll Bridge on the M50 and the Dublin Port Tunnel with effect from July 1.

VAT is to be added to State-owned toll roads from July 1.

THE National Roads Authority (NRA) has called for the country’s road maintenance budget to be more than doubled to ensure real action to tackle litter on tourist thoroughfares.

IRELAND’S key tourist entry points are covered in blankets of rubbish which make for “an appalling sight” that is seriously damaging the already frail economy.

The northbound bore of the Port Tunnel in Dublin is closed due to an incident.

The majority of services in the country are operating with some delays, particularly in the east where road and weather conditions are difficult, Bus Éireann have said.

Given snowfall in the east of the country, bus services in that region are being monitored on an on-going basis, according to Bus Éireann.

FINE Gael last night claimed the Dublin Port Tunnel had been unsafe when opened after the party obtained a previously unreleased report highlighting problems within the facility.

A MAJOR traffic plan is being put in place in north Dublin next week to cater for thousands of rail commuters forced to take to the roads after the collapse of a bridge on the Dublin-Belfast railway line last week.

CONCERN over the safety of the Dublin Port Tunnel was voiced by TDs yesterday, despite repeated reassurances by the National Roads Authority that it is one of the first tunnels in Europe to comply with EU safety directives.

Fresh concerns have been raised today regarding the safety of the Dublin Port Tunnel.

Croke Park will play host to the highlight of the GAA calendar – the All-Ireland football final today.

HAULIERS have decided to call off their threat of a campaign of “civil disobedience” in protest at the new barrier-free scheme on the M50, which comes into effect this Saturday.

THERE are all sorts of cost and environmental reasons to reduce our dependency on private cars but now it seems we will have to add the growing number of toll roads to that equation.

OUR grandparents used to tell stories of terrifying storms they had witnessed. Beatrice Coogan wrote a novel about the night of the Big Wind, a legendary storm.