Review of State's deal with National Toll Roads

The State's 1987 and 2001 agreements with National Toll Roads (NRT) plc for the building of the West-Link toll bridges will be the subject of a preliminary review by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), Mr John Purcell.

The review aims to determine whether a full "value for money" audit by the C&AG's office is warranted. The agreements have generated controversy and political criticism due to increasing toll charges at a time when vehicle numbers using the facility have exceeded 100,000 a day, more than twice the number originally envisaged.

Further criticism was voiced by Labour, Fine Gael and independent transport spokespeople yesterday after The Irish Times revealed that National Toll Roads had also received a State subsidy of €6.4 million for 2003 to 2004.

The original 1987 agreement provided that National Toll Roads would build the first West-Link bridge at a cost of about €38 million and would in return have exclusive rights to charge tolls on the M50 between the N4 Palmerstown junction and the N3 Blanchardstown junction.

The State's investment in the remaining sections of the M50 leading on to the West-Link was about €1 billion, not counting the South Eastern Motorway which is not yet complete.

The agreement was signed between Dublin County Council and the Department of the Environment on one hand, and National Toll Roads.

National Toll Roads was controlled by the family of the late businessman Tom Roche, while the Minister for the Environment at the time was Mr Pádraig Flynn and the Dublin county manager was Mr George Redmond.

More recently Mr Redmond and Mr Flynn have appeared as witnesses at the Flood/Mahon tribunal in Dublin Castle. Mr Roche has died.

Labour's spokeswoman on transport, Ms Róisín Shortall, yesterday told The Irish Times she had tried several times in the Dáil to raise the issue of the 1987 contract with the Minister for Transport, Mr Cullen.

Because that avenue failed she had raised her concerns about the contract with the C&AG. He responded on January 4th saying he had "decided to commence a preliminary investigation in connection with the West-Link contracts".

The second contract which provided for the €6.4 million subsidy to National Toll Roads for 2003-04 was agreed with the company in 2001.

Mr Noel Dempsey, then Minister for the Environment, approved the payments to National Toll Roads in compensation for the toll company agreeing to forgo its annual rise in charges for the years in question.

Fine Gael's transport spokeswoman, Ms Olivia Mitchell, said "tough talking" should be used to "tip the balance back in the favour of motorists and taxpayers".

Independent senator Mr Shane Ross said he was forming an action group to call for a full inquiry following the preliminary review.