Cullen urged to dump plans to toll underwater tunnel

TRANSPORT Minister Martin Cullen was urged yesterday to abandon plans for a road toll of a new underwater tunnel in Limerick.

Deputy Jan O’Sullivan pointed to problems occurring with the new motorway toll between Cork and Fermoy.

She said truckers were avoiding the new motorway stretch in north Cork, due to toll bridges.

The Limerick East TD called on the minister to abandon plans to toll the fourth river crossing of the Shannon in Limerick. She claimed that, by tolling the planned new tunnel, a significant amount of traffic would opt for alternative toll-free routes, such as the city centre or the Dock Road.

“The whole purpose of upgrading our road infrastructure is not just about improving accessibility, it is also about giving life back to cities and towns right across the country by removing heavy traffic volumes away from urban centres and on to ring roads and bypasses,” she said.

“I made my views quite clear, when the various different options between bridges or tunnels were being debated, that I was opposed to the tolling of this crossing,” Ms O’Sullivan said.

“Irish motorists are currently paying the highest road tax and vehicle registration tax in the EU and if all the money collected from road taxes was ring-fenced then there would be no need to continue to toll roads.

“It is a known fact that where tolls are in operation, diversions rates of approximately 30% apply and, when the option, as in the Limerick case to divert to a alternative free route is quite near and accessible, the diversion rates will be much higher.”

She said: “The people and taxpayers of Watergrasshill and Fermoy are now continuing to suffer the daily nightmare of traffic going through their village and town, which is impinging on their quality of life despite the same taxpayers contributing significant sums of money through road tax to the Government. “The Government and the Minister for Transport should learn from the daily debacle on the M50 in Dublin and the diversion rates in north Cork and abandon their plans to toll the new fourth river crossing in Limerick.”