Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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71. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will defer the January 2026 toll increase; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63433/25]

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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From the eye-watering price of petrol and diesel to the spiralling cost of insurance, drivers are being hammered with skyrocketing costs at every turn. I ask the Minister of State if he will defer the January 2026 toll increase and if he will make a statement about it. It is a clear political choice from Government, the Ministers and all their supporters. Will the Government have the same courage of its convictions as it did before the elections, when the Minister himself called for the toll charge increases to be scrapped?

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy for his question. First, I want to state that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is at COP30 and that is why he is not here tonight to answer questions. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I are here to answer the questions.

It is important to point out that the Minister for Transport has no formal role when it comes to tolls. The setting of tolls is a statutory function of Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, and in line with that, the TII board proposed a limited number of toll increases for 2026 on the M50 and the Dublin tunnel, together with changes to toll rates on eight public-private partnership, PPP, routes. The setting of the maximum toll rate each year is largely driven by inflation calculations based on the consumer price index and set out in the by-laws for each toll scheme.

Revenues collected from tolls on the M50 and the Dublin tunnel are invested by TII in the operation and maintenance of the road network. Revenue collected from the eight PPP roads are used by the PPP companies to fund ongoing operations and maintenance activities, as well as to repay loans arising from the construction of the road.

It is important to point out that with regard to private cars, tolls on six of the eight PPP schemes will not change in 2026, with the exceptions being the M3 and M4. In relation to the Dublin tunnel, the tolling arrangements also serve an important demand management function to ensure that non-HGV traffic does not impede the transit of heavy goods vehicles to Dublin Port. To ensure that the tunnel can continue to fulfil its core purpose, a €1 increase in that toll that applies to southbound traffic in the morning was deemed appropriate. Tolls on the tunnel at other times remain unchanged.

Finally, I wish to add that road tolling aligns with national climate policy and the principle that the user pays and that if tolling revenue did not exist, it would be necessary to use additional Exchequer funding to ensure that the national road network is maintained

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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I hear the Minister of State's response but it is very disappointing because he, the Government and the Minister over in Brazil are trying to wash their hands of it. However, the general public and the voters will see right through this because during the last general election campaign, the Minister himself called for the toll hikes to be scrapped.

Has there been a change of mind since then or was it never really meant by the Government? Was it another broken promise in the run-up to the election? Denying responsibility is not going to satisfy people. They know that the Government has the power to stop this because a previous Government did it.

In a rare move in 2023, the then Government actually listened to the Sinn Féin proposals and deferred the toll increases from that January for a period of six months. While that sticking plaster type response did not go far enough, it was better than what the Government is currently planning, which is putting more burdens on drivers already crippled by some of the highest prices for petrol, diesel and insurance in Europe.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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First, I cannot speak for people who made election promises in manifestos. I am here to deal with the question tonight and that is what I am here to do. I note there are 11 toll roads in the State of which ten are on the national roads. The East-Link-Ringsend bridge toll in Dublin is on the local road network. Of the ten tolls, there are two public tolls, namely, the M50 and the Dublin tunnel tolls. Revenue from these tolls is collected directly for TII by operating companies under TII contracts. It also important to say that the toll by-laws for each individual road set out the basis for calculating maximum tolls each year. The maximum tolls are calculated for each vehicle category and TII, which is responsible for collecting the toll, calculates the maximum tolls for the Dublin tunnel and the M50 and decides the actual tolls that should apply. The PPP companies calculate the maximum tolls for the eight PPP concessions and propose the actual tolls that should apply. The mechanism for these calculations is set out in the by-laws. It is important they are there for the maintenance of the road.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister of State has not answered the question about deferring the tolls and whether the Government is going to do that. It has the power to do it and there are other measures it can also take to cut the cost of living and the spiralling costs for drivers. We outlined these in a Private Members’ Bill last week, which we will be voting on tomorrow evening.

The progress that was spoken about in the response last week is as absent as the countermotion, which was supposed to be issued last week, but which never materialised when we were in here in the Chamber.

Is it progress that the Government is standing by while the insurance companies rip people off? Is it progress that the Government punishes drivers who, for whatever reason cannot afford to pay their motor tax upfront and pay it in instalments? Is it progress to hike up the cost of petrol and diesel through the carbon tax increases, which some people in the Minister of State’s Government do not even believe that they have anything to do with? These are hitting lower income and rural drivers who rarely have an alternative option.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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First, the question here is about the tolls and what they are doing. To recap again, there were previous tolls on eight PPP roads, the M50 and the Dublin tunnel. There were toll increases in 2025.

At the moment, there are no changes for cars with the exception of a 10 cent increase on the M3 and M4 tolls. There are also increases for goods vehicles across all schemes, a 20% increase for heavy goods vehicles of more than 3.5 tonnes having four axles or more on the Kilcock to Kinnegad section of the M4. Not every toll is being increased. The inflation and the CPI index shows that there was a 2% inflation increase between August 2024 and August 2025 and this is within the by-laws.

In fairness, the money raised by TII is used for the maintenance, safety and development of our roads. If we do not have that money, where do we get it?