Toll increases starting to feel like a vendetta campaign against hauliers

Independent TD for Laois Offaly Carol Nolan has slammed the latest proposed toll rate increases that are due to come into effect from January 2025 as ‘spiteful, punitive, and counter-productive,’ particularly with regard to the impact of the increases on the road haulage sector.

Deputy Nolan said that there is mounting alarm within the Irish road haulage and HGV transport sector about the issue.

Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has confirmed that there will be a 10-cent increase for cars, buses, coaches and lighter goods vehicles that are not registered with a tag or video account on the M50 from January while heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) exceeding 10,000kg with a tag and video account will also see a 10-cent increase, with a 20 cent increase for unregistered HGVs:

“There is now a definite sense among our hauliers that they are being attacked with transport policies and a TII ‘cash cow’ mentality that amount to ‘death by a thousand cuts,” said Deputy Nolan.

“I find TII’s statement that Dublin Port Tunnel will see an increase of €1 for southbound traffic at peak AM times, rising from €12 to €13 to ‘preserve capacity for HGVs’, as totally incoherent.”

“I mean, capacity is hardly going to be an issue if these very same increases result in our hauliers being taken off the road.”

“There seems to be absolutely zero capacity to join up the dots from either TII or indeed from Minister Eamon Ryan who appears only too happy to stand back and let TII run riot with these costs.”

“The point of no return is coming faster than TII or the minister will acknowledge. They must withdraw these increases and cop on. You simply cannot force cost after cost onto a sector and on to motorists who are already being bled dry by existing toll fees,” concluded Deputy Nolan.