Solution must be found to ensure commuters do not bear brunt of toll increases - junior transport minister

A solution has to be found to ensure commuters do not bear the brunt of increased tolls, the Minister of State for Transport Hildegarde Naughton has said.

Ms Naughton also confirmed that officials in the Department of Transport have been in contact with TII in relation to toll increases but said she was not aware if the senior minister, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, told Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar.

The Fine Gael leader, Mr Varadkar, has said the increases were “a surprise coming at a very bad time”.

At a press conference at the Fine Gael Ard Fheis Ms Naughton also brushed aside a question on whether she told Mr Varadkar about the talks over increases that Department of Transport officials had been engaged in with TII.

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She said: “The issue now is that we need to deal with this.

“There needs to be conversation between transport infrastructure Ireland and Government around ensuring that the commuters are not incurring extra costs at a time when they just can’t afford it.”

The Irish Times reported on Thursday that Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) had confirmed the toll increases in response to inflation.

The State-owned M50 will increase its tolls by just over 9 per cent while the public-private partnership (PPP) motorways have been allowed to bring in “maximum tolls” allowed under agreements with the State.

The new prices come into effect on January 1st.

Both Mr Martin and Mr Varadkar later raised concern about the timing of the increases and suggested there will be engagement with TII on the issue.

Mr Varadkar said: “Just because the maximum toll is set at a certain rate doesn’t mean it has to be imposed.”

There are indications from Government that the matter will be discussed when Mr Ryan returns from the Cop27 climate summit in Egypt.

Speaking ahead of Fine Gael’s ardfheis, Ms Naughton, the Minister of State with responsibility for road transport, said that TII had independently put forward the changes but “certainly from the government’s point of view, the timing of this is not good when we’re looking at cost of living measures”.

She said the €11 Budget was intended to help people through the cost of living crisis. The Galway West TD added: “We need to make sure that we’re helping the public now not giving with one hand and taking with another.”

Asked if there is anything the Government can do to ask TII or the toll operators to scrap or delay the increases, she replied: “I think these are conversations that really need to happen now”.

She highlighted how excise reductions on petrol and diesel were extended into next year to help commuters and added: “again what we don’t want to do is give with one hand and be taking with another.”

Asked if she would be pushing for the excise cuts to be extended she said: “We need a solution on this is the bottom line in relation to ensuring that commuters are not going to be dealing with the brunt of the cost of an increase in these tolls.”

She said the engagement between the Government and TII needs to happen to “find that solution”.

“What it is, we don’t know right now. But there has to be a solution.”

Mr Naughton said the Budget was aimed at alleviating the cost of living. “What we cannot have now is another situation where another arm of the state is increasing the cost for people.”

She separately announced that a review of the Regional Airports Programme (RAP) is to start soon with a view to boosting traffic to the regions and supporting balanced regional development.

Ms Naughton said: “While I provided significant funding to our airports in Shannon, Cork, Donegal and Knock through the RAP in recent years, I would like us to rethink how we can better utilise these airports into the future.”