Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

With breaking news this afternoon on their deferral, it seems the bells have tolled on the toll increases, at least for now. On behalf of my constituents in Leixlip, Celbridge, Maynooth, Kilcock, Donadea, Broadford and out along the M4, I would like to thank an Teachta O'Rourke for the political pressure this motion has brought to bear. It is no harm to remind the public what this was all about. Just last week the Government was pretending that the toll increases were a surprise to them but we found out subsequently that it had known since September. The Tánaiste told the Dáil last week that there had not been an increase in tolls in nine years, when they had already gone up in January. As a result, there can be no room for surprised faces in respect of this matter. These new hikes were not being levied to make the roads better; they were being levied to make better and bigger profits for private companies because road transport, like all the other essential and supposedly public aspects of life like the buses, healthcare, childcare and elder care, has been engineered to become a vehicle for private profit. It is perverse, when we are trying to cut down road transport for the sake of climate, that some toll roads have guaranteed traffic clauses. This means that means citizens' money has to be used to step in and pick up the tab when traffic is not deemed to be enough for these private company profits.

An Teachta O'Rourke mentioned the €8.4 million of taxpayer's hard-earned money that went to the Limerick tunnel operator in 2021 and the M3 operator that got €3 million for there not being enough traffic in 2020 when the pandemic was at its height.

While the wages will not go up in line with inflation, the profits of the private toll operators do. Why? Because, as an Teachta Farrell has already outlined, the PPP contracts allow them to do that. We have huge concerns about them. It is nice work if you can get it, when the Government is so generous with private companies on the public's behalf.

We want the hikes to take a hike, because it is the commuter who cannot depend on the bus to get to work who is paying. It is the parent who was promised a free place for their child to get to school but found out there was no place at all. It is the worker paying through the nose already for petrol and diesel and car insurance who will take the hit. Right now, toll increases are deferred, which is good, because people are punch-drunk from paying out big money for the very basics, not just getting on.

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