Over 10,000 NI drivers sought for traffic law or toll violations

EFFORTS ARE being made to pursue more than 10,000 motorists from Northern Ireland who have broken traffic laws or failed to pay road tolls in the Republic.

This follows a cross-Border agreement which allows authorities to share information on law-breaking motorists for the first time since March of last year. The North’s department responsible for transport is also pursuing more than 2,300 motorists from the South.

The majority of offences committed by drivers in the North relate to unpaid tolls on the M50 around Dublin, while most by drivers from the South concern parking.

A spokesman for the National Roads Authority (NRA) said there was a good level of compliance from drivers in the North over fines or tolls. It is understood the information-sharing arrangement – originally a pilot project scheduled to run from March to November of last year – is being continued. It will require formal Government approval to be established on a permanent footing.

Other figures show cars from countries as far away as India have been using the M50 without paying the €3 toll. Cameras at the barrier-free toll have identified cars from India, El Salvador and Cuba which have travelled without paying.

The most common law-breakers are motorists from the UK, Poland, France and Lithuania. Their licence details are passed to a London-based agency, Euro Parking Collection, which pursues many of these drivers.

Separately, the Government has shelved a report which advocates several new tolling points along the M50 and explores the potential for tolls on other routes.

Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey has said there are no plans soon to make decisions on the report.

The report by the NRA on tolling options is understood to advocate introducing “multipoint” tolling along the M50, potentially between each major interchange. Motorists would be charged the equivalent of the M50 toll if they travelled the full route of the ring-road. They would pay less if they travelled part of it.

The authors, according to sources, say it would be a more equitable approach and yield significantly more money for the exchequer.

The Government’s strategy on infrastructure priorities over the next five years has suggested €200 million could be generated from new tolls and raising existing tolls.

Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show that officials at the Department of Transport say it would be between one and two years before new tolls came into force. Raising existing toll charges would take seven to eight months. The M50 toll alone is generating about €100 million a year. It is the busiest road in the country, with 100,000 vehicles using it every day.