FIANNA Fail asked the Government to make a clear statement of its attitude to tolling the Dublin ring road and Lee tunnel.

The party's environment spokesman, Mr Noel Dempsey, said he believed the National Roads Authority (NRA) had been directed to postpone a decision on tolling until after the next election. The chief executive of the NRA had told the Committee on Public Accounts that "the Government fully supported the implementation of tolling". "No one need be under any illusion that the decision has been made on these two roads," he said.

Fianna Fail opposed tolling. The taxpayers of Ireland and Europe had already paid for the roads. Irish motorists paid £1.5 billion in taxes annually. "They should not be asked to pay again and again for the same stretches of broad."

The Minister for the Environment, Mr Howlin, said he was precluded by law from commenting on any future proposal for tolling, but he said Fianna Fail's conversion on this issue was very recent. Fianna Fail led governments had indicated a willingness to use toll financed private sector capital for road development.

It was clear there was significant opposition to tolling on the two roads. In Dublin it was feared tolling could divert traffic from motorways to the surrounding road network. The concerns expressed had considerable validity and would bear heavily on any decision he might have to make. The NRA was re-examining the issue.

He had received no tolling proposal but if he did it would be processed in accordance with the Roads Act which provided for "full and rigorous assessment", with all interested parties having a full opportunity to comment.

Debate on the motion continues today.