Road Tolls On Ten Routes To See Increase From 1 January

Toll charges for ten routes across Ireland are to see an increase from January 1.

Such routes include the M50 and the Dublin Tunnel, as most car tolls are to see and increase of 20c per journey, with heavy goods vehicles to see an increase of between 30 and 50c per journey.

Other routes also include the M1, M7, M8, N6, N25 at Waterford and N18 Limerick Tunnel, with the toll for cars increasing by 20c to €2.30.

A 20c increase to €3.40 is also in store for the M4, while the M3 is to be upped by 10c to €1.70.

Toll prices are to spike by 20-40c on the M50, depending on the vehicle type, and whether drivers use toll tags, video accounts, or if they are registered. 

For instance, an unregistered car will pay a toll of €3.70, with a driver with a tag paying €2.50.

"too dear"

In a move which has been described by Transport Infrastructure Ireland as preserving  "capacity for heavy goods vehicles accessing Dublin Port", tolls at the Dublin Tunnel are to also increase by €2 for cars at peak times. 

TII have stated that it was basing the toll increases on the annual inflation rate of 6.3%, which was recorded at the end of August. 

Eugene Drennan, the president of the Road Haulage Association claimed that these toll increases will leave hauliers having to pay €7 per journey, which is far "too dear". 

"For safety we are asked to use motorways but it's too dear,"  Drennan claimed. "€7 per truck and some trucks would pass through multiple tolls in a day. This will force hauliers to avoid the tolls as much as possible. It's just too expensive".