Vol. 469 No. 3
79 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for the Environment the current position regarding the tolling of the M50; whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that there is widespread opposition to tolling this road among residents on the northside of Dublin in view of the fact that this road has already been paid for by public funds and because of the negative effort that tolling would have on residential areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17167/96]
I refer to the comprehensive reply to Question No. 108 on 27 March in which I set out my position in this matter. No toll scheme in respect of the route in question has been submitted to me. I am aware of the significant level of opposition to any proposals to impose tolls on the C Ring and I have received a considerable level of correspondence from groups representing motorists, from residents' organisations and from individuals on the subject. Apart from the additional expense for individual motorists, there is significant concern that the imposition of tolls could divert large volumes of traffic away from the motorway on to the surrounding network, resulting in a detrimental environmental impact and loss of residential amenity, and giving rise to demands for additional road construction and maintenance costs at other locations. I believe that these concerns have considerable validity and they would bear heavily on any decision I might be called on to make should the NRA proceed with proposals for tolling the C Ring.
