Mr. Michael Nolan:

We are developing the service areas on foot of Government policy, national policy and fulfilling our requirements under the EU directive. Our policy that we put out in 2014 and previous policies was to develop online service areas. There are a number of reasons there are benefits for online service areas vis-à-vis offline service areas. I will go through them since the Senator asked the question. Online locations provide the most convenient access for drivers. The increased convenience encourages more frequent use of service areas for drivers wishing to take rest breaks and to avail of facilities. There is a higher turn-in rate, higher usage for online services.

The Road Safety Authority identified fatigue as a factor in 27 fatal collisions and the greater the usage of service areas by drivers, the greater the benefit in terms of safety and reducing fatigue-related road accidents.

Access directly off the main line ensures the separation of longer-distance high-speed traffic from local roads, resulting in road safety and traffic-movement benefits. The mixing of local and higher-speed longer-distance traffic does not arise in an online facility. A preference for online service areas on roads of motorway standard is consistent with the pattern of development in other EU countries.

Importantly, online services do not directly compete with existing fuel and other retail facilities in the immediate locality and do not become destinations in their own right.