Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

notes that: — there are 11 toll roads in operation across the State, 10 of which are on the national roads network with two of these being in full public ownership;

— eight roads across the State are tolled under Public Private Partnerships (PPP); and

— the Minister for Transport has responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the National Roads Programme;

acknowledges that:

— tolls on seven PPP roads and the M50 were increased at the start of 2022;

— the announcement from Transport Infrastructure Ireland on 17th November, 2022, that tolls on eight PPP roads and the M50 will increase again from 1st January, 2023;

— the Government has the ability to allocate funding to offset these toll increases;

— the taxpayer has paid out millions of euros in traffic guarantee payments to private toll companies over the past three years, due to lower levels of traffic on our motorways as a result of the pandemic; and

— some private toll companies have recorded millions of euros in after-tax profits in the past year; recognises that: — motorists are already struggling with very high fuel costs, and these toll increases will impact negatively on workers, both in the public and private sector, commuting to and from work each day;

— the recent European Anti-Poverty Network report indicated that in this State, more than 17 per cent of people are living in enforced deprivation, and this represents an increase of over 100,000 people from 2021;

— tolls particularly impact those living in rural areas, who are forced to use a private car due to the failure of successive Governments to put in place sustainable transport options; and

— any increase in toll prices will add further to the cost-of-living crisis, the operating costs for businesses, including hauliers, and will result in higher prices for food and other goods and will put many businesses at risk;

further acknowledges that:

— the existing gold-plated PPP contracts that permit these toll increases, and generous traffic guarantee payments, are a legacy of bad economic policy choices and decisions made by successive Fianna Fáil-led administrations; and

— the Minister of State at the Department of Transport with special responsibility for International and Road Transport and Logistics, Hildegarde Naughton TD, and Minister for Transport, Eamonn Ryan TD, were notified of the proposed planned toll increases in advance of Budget 2023 and the Government has failed to respond since; condemns: — the failure of the Government, in particular the Minister for Transport, Eamonn Ryan TD, and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath TD, to respond and include the necessary financial provisions in Budget 2023, and to offset these planned increases and lessen the burden on workers, families, and businesses in the midst of the cost-of-living and fuel crisis; and

— Minister Eamon Ryan's disinterest in the plight of motorists, especially those involved in logistics and commercial activities; and mandates the Government to stop the proposed increase in toll charges planned for January 2023.

I note the Government's eleventh-hour intervention where it has decided to defer the road toll increases for six months. It is clear as day that the Government has been bounced into this decision as a direct result of political and, probably more importantly, public pressure. There has been a huge public response to this crazy proposal. The Department of Transport was notified of these toll increases three full months ago, on 1 September, yet it took until today to get any action from the Government, just hours before this Sinn Féin motion calling on the toll increases to be stopped. As early as this morning it was being reported that a decision would not be made until closer to the new year. It is a welcome action but it does not go far enough.

The Government's announcement does not solve the problem. It only serves to kick the can down the road and it fails to provide the certainty required by families. It does not address the underlying problems. There seems to be no recognition whatever that we are living in a crippling cost-of-living crisis. Workers, hauliers and businesses are really struggling with transport costs. It is now proposed that the tolls will increase instead next summer, at a time when petrol and diesel prices have gone back up due to the expiration of the excise relief and just before the Government hikes fuel prices yet again with its annual carbon tax increase. This proposed toll increase will add €8 million to the operating costs of hauliers in the second half of 2023. It will heap additional costs on workers and families who have no alternatives.

In recent days I have been contacted by hauliers who are put to the pin of their collars. They have real concerns that their businesses will go to the wall. I have been contacted by people who have to travel for dialysis six times a week on a disability payment. The increasing cost of petrol and diesel and the obligation to make the commute through the tolls is putting them under severe financial pressure. It is completely unacceptable that the Government would let this situation get to this point.

The Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan buried his head in the sand on this and simply hoped it would go away. He can show interest in toll roads an has in the past when it suited him. In opposition he called for electric vehicle, EV, owners to pay no tolls at all but when it comes to ordinary motorists, commercial operators or people driving a white van or a lorry who cannot afford an EV or do not have an EV option, he has no interest at all. This entire saga highlights how generous these gold-plated Fianna Fáil-era road toll contracts are and further, how poorly successive Governments since have invested in roads maintenance and upkeep. The public private partnership, PPP, contracts seem to be a win, win, win for the private contractor. The M3 operator made €11 million profit last year. That company gets paid millions if not enough cars use the road. Its tolls go up with inflation and the State is locked into these contracts for decades. It is a cash cow.

Earlier, I read a 2010 article inThe Irish Times, which highlighted that the Government did not know how much the company behind the M50 project had originally invested in the project before agreeing to a deal which would ensure that this private company received a €1.15 billion return on investment. You could not make it up. It is expected that the private company partnered in the Limerick tunnel project will receive payment of €200 million over the lifetime of the project due to lower than expected traffic volumes. These toll contracts are a relic of the Fianna Fáil cowboy era of poor planning and financial incompetence. Motorists are still paying the price for this. Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, is to tell the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications this evening that the M50 and Port tunnel raised €200 million annually for it and that it uses that money to maintain the national road network. It says that just €400 million is provided by the Department which is 2% of asset value. That is nowhere near what is needed. M50 motorists are paying for the upkeep of roads across this country because the Government has failed to put a proper sustainable plan in place. That is what it needs to do over the next six months.