Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I am aware of what the new chief executive of the NRA said yesterday. However, I believe there has been an over-interpretation in the reporting of his remarks. The impression has been given that there is an immediate prospect of the toll plaza being bought but that is not the case. The income stream from the toll plaza is funding the upgrade of the M50. It is an important stream of finance.

In the future there will be issues surrounding traffic into Dublin and demand management will legitimately arise in the context of how the M50 is used by consumers. However, it is not an immediate prospect. That should be made clear because I got the impression today that this is a matter that is under negotiation in a detailed way. There are no proposals on my desk or in the Department of Transport.

I met NTR recently and told its representatives in unequivocal terms that I am anxious to move to barrier free tolling as quickly as possible. I do not accept that a timeframe of four or five years is necessary to achieve it.

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