Mr. Lorcan O'Connor:

I will break the Deputy’s question into two parts: the single point of charging on the M50 and the equity, or otherwise, of it and then the long-term tolling policy or strategy. With regard to the M50, I cannot dispute her point about the inequity of a single point charging system, but that is the way in which it is currently set up. As she referenced, there was a study done about a decade ago looking at alternatives to that. That, as I understand it, did not receive political backing at that time. Some of the sensitivities of that are obvious for all to see.

When it comes to the broader strategy around tolling, in Europe and other countries, the move tends to be towards distance-based tolling, rather than point charging. The reply the Deputy received to her question will have referred to the opportunity that the expiry of the PPP projects over the next decade presents to Ireland. It is an opportunity to look at the appropriate way to charge road users for using the network.

You can argue at one end about whether tolling is necessary at all. If you argue that, then I suppose the follow-on question is about where the necessary income comes from to service the ongoing maintenance of those roads.