Shane Ross (Independent)

I was struck by an issue raised by Senators Alex White and Hannigan. It is a serious issue not because of the detail but because of the principle. I refer to what is happening on the M50 today. Senator Alex White pointed out that the National Roads Authority is holding some kind of hearing and that an appeal is going through. I thought that battle had been won and that the State had bought out National Toll Roads for €600 million, €50 million per year until 2020. I thought it had done so in order to let the traffic flow freely but what has happened is that it has bought out NTR so that the motorist, having been screwed by one monopoly, will now be screwed by the State in an even more crucial and acute way. That is a serious situation for which the Minister for Transport must answer.

The State is increasing the toll by approximately 60%, which is unacceptable. There is no alternative for people because one of the most extraordinary aspects of this toll is that it is not spread around the M50. One can travel on the M50 from one point to another without paying anything. One must only go through one point at the Westlink to pay. It is an extraordinary anomaly which the State is exploiting. Senator Hannigan is right in that it should be completely toll free or that the approach roads should be tolled. It is not an easy thing for a politician to say but it is a time in the electoral period when that position could be taken.

One cannot take the M50 in isolation and toll it to get money to pay for the upkeep of the road. This is systematic of an appalling transport problem. Why do we not consider letting people travel free on public transport in the Dublin area or further afield to get them off the roads, as suggested by the Labour Party? Instead of the State doing that, it is keeping people on the roads and screwing them for money in the way NTR did in the past. What is happening is wrong and the Minister should come to the House to tell us a little more about transport policy in the context of what is happening today.