The Government is the "hidden profiteer" in the decision of National Toll Roads to raise its charge on motorists using the Westlink Bridge in Dublin by 20 per cent, according to the Automobile Association.
From January 1st the toll for an ordinary car has risen from €1.50 to €1.80 and, as a result of a deal between the State and the NTR in the financing of the bridge, the Government will now receive €1 for every car that crosses.
"The Government is the hidden profiteer in this. At the very least the extra income from extra customers should be used to keep toll charges down and to raise the barriers at peak times," said the AA's public affairs manager, Mr Conor Faughnan.
"From the motorists' point of view, it does not matter which of the Westlink partners - NTR or the State - is getting the biggest cut. Neither of them needs it, and it is coming out of ordinary people's pockets," he said.
NTR has justified the increase in tolls as a once-off rise to offset the cost of installing a second Westlink facility in 2003. But according to Mr Faughnan this is the fourth price increase in just over three years.
"That bridge is making a fortune . . . With the surge in volumes and the recent price increases there is no justification whatever for this enormous price hike," he added.