Fermoy, Co Cork, has paid dearly for being literally on the roadside of the main artery between Dublin and Cork. For years there has been agitation to have the town bypassed but now that it is finally going to happen, the agitation is focused on what form the bypass should take. There will be a toll, but should it be a "hard toll" or a "soft toll"?
A hard toll is where motorists pay every time they use the bypass. It is a device by which the Government can repay the substantial private investment needed to complete the £63 million development through what amounts to a direct levy on the motorist.
In soft tolling, private investment is still required but under this scheme, the investors are repaid with interest over an agreed number of years, probably 30, based on the number of vehicles using the bypass. The Government uses the ample road taxation fund to repay investors and motorists are not asked to pay directly.
The State benefits through the use of upfront private capital and there is no need for toll booths and staff for them. The hard toll will frighten off motorists and truckers, according to the Fermoy Bypass Group - if the soft toll approach is used, the plan will be successful, it claims.
The group comprises members of the Fermoy business community and has the support of residents' associations as well as parent/teacher organisations and the local Garda. The main fear is that a direct toll will cause vehicles users to continue driving straight through the town instead of bypassing it. With the daily traffic volume growing at eight per cent annually, the future for the town does not seem bright if that trend continues.
Mr Donal O'Lochlainn, chairman of the group, said Fermoy was only one example of a town where the hard-toll bypass option is being examined by the Government. "These proposals will affect towns throughout the State and it is important that a national debate on the issue should take place now. In our case, Fermoy sees 2,500 heavy commercial vehicles per day passing through and that is three and a half times more than Rosslare Harbour.
"This year, the daily throughput of vehicles will be 25,000. If the hard toll is implemented, communities in Kilworth, Castlelyons, Glanworth, Ballyhooly and Mitchelstown have made it clear to us they will not use the bypass. You can take it that neither will the majority of other vehicle users," he said.
The question of the Fermoy bypass and others is still under review and the original completion date of 2003 in the case of Fermoy is more likely to be extended to 2006. This is one issue on which the Government must listen to local people, Mr O'Lochlainn adds.