Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Deputy. That is the position of the Government in respect of the timing of these toll increases. The setting of tolls is the statutory responsibility of TII and is not a ministerial responsibility. That said, there is regular engagement, as I am sure the Deputy understands, between the Department and TII on a range of issues. The issue around the tolls would have been raised by TII as part of those regular engagements with the Department. The issue was notified internally within the Department and we were made aware in early September that tolls would be increasing. The timing of it is an issue. I know the party leaders are engaging and there is ongoing engagement with TII around the options that are being considered. We have allocated a lot of funding for households, businesses and commuters. We have reduced public transport fares across the board. There was an €11 billion budget to help people with the cost of living. Right now, we do not want another arm of the State to be imposing extra costs on people. We are having discussions about the options that are available now to ensure we protect commuters and those travelling to work and school, and hauliers who use these roads on a daily basis. We want a resolution as quickly as possible. That engagement is under way.