Mr. Ger Hyland:

Leaving the urban centres to one side for a minute, take the toll roads. For the past five years we have called for the removal of the barriers at the toll booths and for an express HGV lane that we drive through at 20 km/h or 30 km/h. It does not have to be 50 km/h or 60 km/h. If we could go through at 20 km/h or 30 km/h, the amount of fuel we would save would anywhere between 1 litre and 2 litres every time we come to a toll booth. If there is no traffic in front of us when we come to a toll booth we have to physically come to a complete stop, then the toll barrier rises once it recognises our tag, and then we go through. If we arrive and there are eight or ten cars in the lane in front of us, it takes us five to ten minutes to get through the toll booth. There should be a specific lane with no barrier for trucks at all toll booths. The technology is there to pick up the toll tag and let us through. I will give an example. The most polluted place in Ireland is at the toll leading into Dublin Port from the port tunnel. It is also one of the most polluted places in Europe. We have called for TII to remove the barriers on all toll roads, and specifically the one going into Dublin Port.