Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 7:

In page 4, before section 3, to insert the following new section:

3.—(1) Section 57 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (3), by substituting for paragraph (e) the following:

"(e) specify the manner and method of the charging of and collection of tolls,

(f) specify such other information as the road authority making the scheme considers appropriate or the Minister prescribes by regulations.".

(2) In any toll scheme, the Minister and the Department of Transport shall ensure that any electronic system represents value for money and shall comprise—

(a) the maximum possible functionality, and

(b) at least two functions.".

This amendment relates to the use of electronic tolling and the potential functionality of the camera system that underpins it. It seems ludicrous that the taxpayer will pay for the installation of a hugely expensive electronic tolling system involving cameras, gantries, collection systems, administrative systems and back-up and enforcement systems. This will all be hugely expensive. The installation will cost over €200 million and the cost of annual administration will be enormous, though the figure is unknown at this point.

If we are putting this huge, costly system in place, why is it only being used to ensure the collection of a couple of euro from each car paying the toll? Why not utilise it to its maximum potential and allow it to be used for other policing purposes such as checking speeding, tracking stolen cars and tracking criminals? This area has huge potential for policing which the system will not capitalise on. The recent cocaine haul in west Cork illustrates a possible use of the system. It also illustrates the importance of being able to record and photograph all car registrations, including those of foreign-registered vehicles, and use this information. Although vehicles will be photographed under the proposed system, information on foreign-registered vehicles will be discarded immediately because it is not recognised by our vehicle registration system.

The House is due to discuss the transmission of information to the Department of Homeland Security in the United States. It is proposed that Ireland submit to this body information we do not collect for our own purposes. This does not make sense when one considers that the reason the information is collected is to safeguard law-abiding citizens.

The electronic tolling and camera systems I referred to on Second Stage will not deliver value for money unless we maximise the potential of our investment in them. I ask the Minister to accept the amendment as it would allow the system being introduced on the M50 and, I presume, in many other areas at some stage to be used for purposes other than collecting a single toll at a single point.

See this speech in context