Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 December 2013
12. Deputy Helen McEntee asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the traffic statistics for Slane, County Meath, during the recent toll holiday; the increase or decrease in the number of HGVs travelling through the village during the toll holiday period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54139/13]
View answerAs I have indicated previously I am concerned that large numbers of HGVs continue to use our regional and local roads in order to avoid tolls, and are driving through towns, villages and rural areas with large populations. This has safety implications for other road users, residents and pedestrians. In addition by using local and regional roads instead of custom-built motorways, HGVs are adding to the wear and tear of the legacy roads network. For this reason I asked the National Roads Authority (NRA) to examine at the feasibility of lifting tolls for heavy goods vehicles for one month on a number of motorways across the country, including the M1and M3, as a trial. The purpose of the trial on these routes was to see if HGV operators could be persuaded to use the motorways more by providing HGV operators with an opportunity to evaluate the time and efficiency benefits of using the motorways.
As regards the traffic figures, the NRA informs me that HGV traffic in Slane was down 36% in the first half of November, and over 43% down in the second half. The second half figures may have been affected by some local road works. The NRA has said that this data is fully consistent with the their previous assessments that about 40% of HGV traffic in Slane was avoiding tolls on the M1 or M3.
