Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support the call made by my colleague, Senator Wilson, for the Leader to invite the Taoiseach to the House and address us concerning the Taoiseach's recent statement. Not only is Leo Varadkar the Taoiseach, he is also the Minister for Defence and it could be one of the lead Ministries if Brexit goes in the wrong direction.

I wish to raise the issue of tolls for small, light commercial vehicles such as the Volkswagen Caddy vehicle, which is a necessity for self-employed people such as painters who work as a one-man operation. One must pay €4.40 on the N4 toll road for a Volkswagen Caddy or similar vehicle that has the capacity to carry two passengers and a very small load capacity. Let us say a painter took on a job on the north side of Dublin and he or she also had to pass through the M50 toll. The total cost for tolls would be €84 per week. That is a lot of money for one person to pay who is trying to run a very small business, particularly as the majority of work seems to be available in Dublin. If he or she used his or her family or domestic car, the toll would be less than two thirds. It does not make sense to charge such people so much for using toll roads. These entrepreneurs are trying to survive by keeping their charges to a minimum. It is unfair for the Government to impose an extra cost on them every week in addition to them paying for diesel, insurance and motor tax. The passenger capacity of such vehicles is only two persons and the load capacity is very small. I have no problem with HGVs or larger commercial vans paying a bit extra because they transport more goods or whatever. For the small Caddy-type van that is mostly used by painters, plumbers and one-person operations, the weekly outlay in toll charges is serious. We must consider the differential between the charge on small vans and cars, especially as cars are a lot larger, can carry up to five passengers, and have a higher engine capacity. I call on the Leader to ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to consider the matter when setting future charges for toll roads.