No decision on toll road arrangements, says Ahern
Mr Ahern told the Dáil yesterday that the Government will not be in a position to make any decision on new tolling arrangements until after a traffic flow study has been carried out by the National Roads Authority (NRA).
This will not be ready until October or November.
The Taoiseach’s comments seem to contradict those of Minister for Transport Martin Cullen, who suggested on Monday that three or four gantries or scanners may be placed around the 31km of the motorway.
Motorists would then be charged for the portion of the road they used, irrespective of crossing the River Liffey.
At present, the toll bridge operated by National Toll Roads (NTR) charges only those motorists who cross the river.
The tolls would pay for the cost of buying out NTR’s interest in the toll bridge until 2020 (estimated at €500 million) plus the further €1 billion it will cost to upgrade the M50 to a three-lane highway.
Mr Ahern was responding to Labour leader Pat Rabbitte during Leaders’ Questions.
“There’s been no decision made about any new toll road,” he said.
“The NRA has decided to terminate arrangements with NTR
“They tried for some considerable length of time to come to an agreement. Those discussions have failed.”
He said that no decision could be made about tolling until the strategic management of traffic flow had been completed.
Mr Rabbitte mocked the idea of multi-point tolling as an affront to motorists.
“Of all the hare-brained, half-baked, off-the-top-of-the-head, mismanaged answers to the problem, this one beats them all.”
He suggested that the Taoiseach was backing off from what Mr Cullen had promised or else he was playing with language.
Mr Rabbitte was supported by Socialist TD Joe Higgins who accused NTR of holding taxpayers to ransom.
He called for the immediate nationalisation of the toll bridge.
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