Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy McEntee for the opportunity to address this issue on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Donohoe. It gives us further opportunity to acknowledge publicly, as the Deputy has outlined, the valuable work of organisations such as Meath River Rescue. As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Donohoe has responsibility for overall policy and funding of the national roads programme. The planning, design and implementation of individual road projects is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, formerly the NRA, under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned.

The statutory power to levy tolls on national roads such as the M3, make toll by-laws and enter into toll agreements with private investors in respect of national roads is vested in TII under Part V of the Roads Act 1993 as amended by the Planning and Development Act 2000 and the Roads Act 2007. The Roads Act 1993 sets out the legislative provisions regarding tolling and section 62 of the Act specifies the categories of vehicles which are exempt from the payment of toll charges. As the Deputy outlined, only ambulance, fire brigade vehicles and vehicles used by members of the Garda Síochána or the Defence Forces in the performance of their duties as such members are exempt from the payment of tolls. The Irish Coast Guard of the Minister's Department, mountain rescue teams and other community based voluntary emergency services and groups are not exempt from the payment of tolls.

Although voluntary and community organisations such as Meath River Rescue provide a valuable service, in order to ensure the implementation of a fair and robust system of tolling enforcement, it is essential that it be applied equally to all users. It would be very difficult, for example, to provide an exemption for one voluntary organisation over another. TIl has received numerous requests for exemptions from tolls from organisations that have merit including charities, medical groups, individual medical personnel and a multitude of other entities. TIl has been unable to accede to those requests, given that it has entered into binding concession contracts in respect of most of the toll roads. Making the voluntary and community sector generally exempt from tolls would incur a cost to the Exchequer, given that the PPP toll operators would have to be reimbursed for losses, and TIl is not in a position to do this. There is, however, nothing to prevent a group such as Meath River Rescue making direct contact with toll operators with a view to entering into an agreement regarding exemption from tolls. I encourage this, and the organisation may receive a positive response from the operators.

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