€12m in toll fines collected by NRA

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.

The €12 million in fines adds up to almost €50,000 per day for the period.

Fine Gael’s Seanad transport spokesman Paschal Donohoe yesterday called for a review of the tolling. “The M50 toll was never supposed to be another motor tax. No one ever expected the NRA to turn into an outpost of the Revenue Commissioners. But with €50,000 worth of fines being imposed every day on motorists, the toll has effectively become a motorway tax.

“With this level of fines being imposed every day, and with 200 motorists being wrongly billed every day, the tolling system is clearly breaking down. There must be an urgent review of the entire system to make it easier to pay the toll and avoid being fined.”

However, the NRA maintained that the 99.8 per cent record of the system was “an industry best”.

Meanwhile, drivers from Northern Ireland who fail to pay face retrospective billing of unpaid tolls when an agreement between the Department of Transport and its UK counterpart comes into effect. Under the deal, both jurisdictions will grant access to national driver databases from early 2010.

However, the NRA said foreign-registered vehicles account for a relatively small proportion of vehicles using the M50.

NRA spokesman Sean O’Neill, said there was a large number of Northern Ireland-registered vehicles that were compliant with the system, and who were registered because they were daily commuters. However, the new agreement will mean that those who have dodged their toll bills will be forced to pay up. “It’s a civil matter, through credit agencies,” said Mr O’Neill.

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.

Barrier-free tolling was introduced in August 2008 following the sale of the bridge by National Toll Roads to the State for €488 million.