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The National Roads Authority (NRA) has collected more than €12 million in fines this year from motorists who failed to pay the M50 toll on time.

About 25 million transactions have been recorded for the barrier-free tolling system between January and September 2009, with €71 million in revenue collected to date.

According to the NRA, almost three quarters of those who use the M50 toll bridge had either an eFlow video account or toll tag. Of those without an account, one third - 9.7 per cent of all traffic using the bridge – were issued with a penalty notice for failing to pay the €3 toll before 8pm the following day.

More than 5,200 motorists have been issued with a summons for unpaid tolls. Six cases have already appeared before the courts, with one pending.