Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to address this issue. I have responsibility for overall policy and funding relating to the national roads programme. The planning, design and implementation of individual road projects is a matter for the NRA under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2007, in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. Furthermore, the statutory power to levy tolls on national roads such as the M50, to make toll by-laws and to enter into toll agreements with private investors in respect of national roads is vested in the NRA under Part V of the Roads Act 1993, as amended by the Planning and Development Act 2000 and the Roads Act 2007.

The Roads Acts authorise the making of by-laws to deal with the operation and management of a toll road and to deal with various operational matters. By-laws for toll roads generally specify who is to be liable to pay a toll and the different levels of tolls for different types of vehicle, regulate the way in which payment is to be made, specifically require the payment of the appropriate toll before a vehicle may use the toll road and impose that obligation on the driver of the vehicle and provide that failure by a person liable to pay the toll is an offence.

Since 2008, a barrier-free tolling scheme called eFlow operates on the M50. This allows all motorists to pass through the toll at motorway speed, with their journeys and consequent liability to pay a toll being recorded by the barrier free system that has been put in place. The principal types of road users are a tag holder, whether issued by eFlow or some other tag issuer; a video account holder where a camera at the toll booth recognises the pre-registered registration number of the vehicle and charges the account by reference to the registration number of the vehicle; and an unregistered road user where he or she has until the following day at 8 p. m. to pay the toll at any Payzone outlet, online or by telephone. The tolls payable vary depending on the category of user. There is significant signage on the approach to and from the M50 toll point indicating tolls are in place. Every effort is made to ensure motorists have an opportunity to comply fully with the toll system and there are a variety of ways such as telephone, online, pre-pay and shops with Payzone logo to pay the legally due tolls. I understand that a guide for tourists using any of the Republic's 11 toll points is available on the eFlow website.

The NRA has established an enforcement policy to assist in the recovery of unpaid toll charges and fines and the prosecution of all toll evaders of Irish or foreign-registered vehicles. An effective enforcement policy is necessary for barrier free tolling to work. Sanef ITS Operations is the operator of eFlow on behalf of the NRA. It is a customer focused e-commerce business with more than 2 million customers and I understand it handles approximately 45 million transactions per year, making it one of the largest customer operations in Ireland.

Moving from a toll plaza facility to barrier-free tolling was a significant change not just for Ireland but also within Europe. The M50 motorway was the first European barrier-free toll system that catered for all vehicle types. Other European countries had only implemented barrier-free toll systems for HGVs.

Prior to the introduction of barrier-free tolling on the M50, traffic in 2007 had reached 90,000 vehicles per day, almost three times the original forecast level. Major traffic congestion was frequent, with delays of up to an hour at peak times. The free flowing system which was introduced as a result of the M50 upgrade has led to increased efficiency, faster journey times and increased capacity for motorists. The M50 is Ireland's busiest road, with more than 110,000 vehicles passing along it each day. Traffic analysis undertaken as part of the widening scheme of the past few years suggested that, by 2023, many sections would have traffic flows in excess of 200,000 vehicles per day. As such, it is important and vital that the M50 can perform its function for the foreseeable future and barrier-free tolling is a key component of that.

See this speech in context