Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The Minister for Transport has the responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding in relation to the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015 and in line with the national development plan, the operation and management of individual national roads is a matter for TII in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. Matters relating to day-to-day operations regarding national roads, including toll roads and the establishment of a system of tolls, are a statutory function of TII. More specifically, the statutory power to levy tolls, make toll bye-laws and enter into agreements with private investors are vested in TII under Part V of the Roads Act 1993, as amended. The Act does not provide for a consultative function with the Minister regarding specific toll increases.

There are 11 toll roads in the State and of these, ten are on the national road network. Of the ten tolls on the national road network, two are essentially public tolls, namely, the M50 and the Dublin tunnel. Revenue from these tolls is collected directly for TII by operating companies under contract to TII. These revenues are invested by TII in the operation and maintenance of the national road network. The other eight roads are public private partnership, PPP, roads which were constructed and are now operated and maintained under long-term contracts with TII. Revenue generated by these roads is collected by the PPP company and is then used to repay loans arising from the construction of the road and to fund ongoing operations and maintenance activities. Tolls on the eight PPP roads and the M50 were increased at the start of this year, which was the first increase in toll rates for motor cars since 2013.

The setting of tolls is a statutory function of Transport Infrastructure Ireland. In line with that statutory function, the TII board agreed to a toll increase in 2023 on the M50. TII has also reviewed and agreed with the toll increases submitted by the PPP companies for the eight PPP routes. There will be no changes to toll rates for the Dublin tunnel. Tolls are due to increase because of the consumer price index, CPI, calculations carried out for each year. The CPI increased by 8.6% between August 2021 and August 2022; this has resulted in increased tolls on all eight PPP schemes and on the M50. The bye-laws for each individual toll scheme set out the basis for calculating the maximum toll for each year. On the M50, a deferral of the toll increase would require funding to be allocated from other national roads projects and would reduce funding for asset management and renewal activities across the rest of the network. This toll revenue plays a key role in protecting and maintaining our national road network and it safeguards the investments which have taken place in the network over recent decades. As required by the legislation, TII will shortly publish details of the proposals in the national media prior to their introduction.