Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 February 2024
169. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Transport to respond to concerns raised by a person (details supplied) in respect of the ongoing and frustrating campaign to remove the M1 tolls which consistently causes serious congestion in the largest town of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7178/24]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993-2015, the operation and management of individual national roads is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities concerned.
Therefore, matters relating to the day to day operations regarding national roads, including toll roads are within the remit of TII. More specifically, the statutory power to levy tolls, to make toll bye-laws and to enter into agreements with private investors are vested in TII under Part V of the Roads Act 1993 (as amended). Moreover, the contracts for the privately-operated toll schemes are commercial agreements between TII and the Public Private Partnership (PPP) concessionaires concerned. The M1 Gormanston to Monasterboice toll road, which bypasses Drogheda, is an example of such a scheme. As such, the management of the relationship with the PPP concessionaire on this route is a matter for TII. I understand that TII previously outlined to the Council that the implementation of a temporary waiver of the toll at Donore Ramps for all traffic would have the effect of inducing traffic to pass through Drogheda to bypass the toll on the mainline. This would lead to additional congestion in the town, as well as resulting in substantial costs due to lost toll revenues. In this scenario the costs would be very significant and TII would not be in a position to fund any such compensation.
