THE Government did not even know how much it cost to build the controversial M50 toll bridge before it agreed to a €600 million buyout of the operation in 2008, it has emerged.

The Government’s spending watchdog has revealed further examples of lax controls on Government spending in the deal for the M50 Toll Bridge, civilian policing and benefit fraud.

A cocaine addict found with "a veritable arsenal" of guns and ammunition on the M50 has been given a five year sentence by Judge Donagh McDonagh at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

THE Irish Congress of Trade Unions is heartened to see Senator Shane Ross give such enthusiastic backing to our call for the state to purchase the West Link toll bridge with a view to making it toll-free.

DRIVING by the new M50 toll bridge in Dublin recently, I wondered how the Government could be so blind to reality. This new bridge will merely serve as a carpark until such time as the real problem is addressed — the throughput of vehicles at the tollbooths. Investment in additional tollbooths would have provided a much better return.