Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 46: To ask the Minister for Transport the communications he has had with National Toll Roads since taking office; the meetings he has had with board members or representatives of this company; if written communication has passed between his Department and this company since his taking office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15583/05]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I have had two meetings with representatives of NTR — on 17 February 2005 and 5 May 2005. Both meetings dealt with the issue of congestion at the Westlink bridge and the options for a speedy transition to barrier free tolling. In the course of both meetings I emphasised the critical importance of moving to barrier free tolling as quickly as possible. Following the 5 May meeting, at which NTR outlined options for moving to open road tolling at Westlink, NTR will now engage with the National Roads Authority in relation to the upgrade of that section of the M50, including the upgrade of the Westlink toll facility, operated by NTR.

In addition to the foregoing, my Department has had contact with NTR in relation to the State's share of the Westlink toll revenues and with NTR and other toll operators in relation to legislative changes necessary to support enforcement of a barrier free toll regime.