Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I have informed the NRA I do not accept that timeframe and I wish to put that on the record of the House. I cannot understand why it would take that long. This is not new technology that must be invented; it already exists. I know it is not as simple as putting in the new technology but with a direct approach and a little effort in this regard, it would take a lot less time in my view. I have not been persuaded by NTR as to that timeframe.

The financial terms of the PPP contracts have been scrutinised by the NRA's financial advisers. This included sensitivity analyses and an assessment of potential profit returns to the PPP company at traffic volumes in excess of both the PPP company's forecasts and NRA forecasts. The NRA's advisers have concluded that the contracts entered into represent value for money for the public sector and that the revenue-sharing arrangement included in the contracts is such that the PPP company will not earn excessive profits from these schemes arising from unanticipated growth in traffic volumes.

These new PPP contracts, among other things, specify exacting performance standards that the PPP company must meet in respect of the toll facility operations. They are aimed at ensuring high customer service standards and minimum delay at toll plazas. Failure to observe these requirements will entail penalties on the PPP companies.

The NRA is mandating in the contracts that electronic toll collection must be provided across all toll lanes as well as providing one dedicated ETC lane on all plazas in each direction for cars and light vehicles, increasing to two lanes in each direction should traffic volumes require it. In the future all tolling will be of this nature.

I hope the foregoing has clarified the key aspects of the West Link agreement. It will be clear from what I have said that the solution to the peak hour congestion on the M50 requires the implementation of the M50 upgrade project and a move to open road tolling at West Link. The M50 upgrade motorway scheme and EIS were published in September 2004 and were the subject of an An Bord Pleanála oral hearing in February 2005. The upgrade involves the widening of approximately 32 km of the motorway from two to three lanes in each direction, from the M50 M1 interchange near Dublin Airport through to the Sandyford interchange, which is under construction, and the upgrade of ten junctions along this length.

Subject to favourable decisions from An Bord Pleanála on the proposal, the NRA envisages that the design and build contract will be awarded by October 2005 for phase one, the N4 to the N7 section, and that the PPP contract for the remainder of the upgrade project will follow next year. The NRA's required solution for the West Link toll facility is to move on a phased basis to open road tolling. The environmental impact statement for the M50 upgrade project provides for a move on a phased basis to open road electronic tolling. The transition from the current toll collection arrangements to a non-stop electronic toll collection facility will be implemented over a number of stages.

In summary, the solution to the problems on the M50 and at West Link is the upgrade of the M50 and a move to barrier-free open road tolling. This will provide increased capacity to improve traffic flow on the M50 and on radial routes connecting to the M50, and the removal of the manual payments arrangements.