Taxpayer will foot bill if M3 toll profit falls short of target
DEAL: Contract is 'mad', warns TD
Monday August 10 2009
THE public will have to pay the shortfall if traffic on the new M3 motorway fails to reach agreed targets.
The operators will be compensated by the taxpayer if income levels from tolls do not meet expectations.
This is under a contract in which the National Roads Authority guaranteed a minimum income level to the company, Eurolink.
The deal was struck despite the development of a new rail service to Navan, which will take motorists off the road.
It is the latest controversy to hit the road, one of the most contentious transport projects in the history of the State.
Labour transport spokesman Tommy Broughan TD has described the situation as "mad".
Drivers could face tolls of up to €11.20 per day to use the motorway, which will open in early 2010.
Next year will also see the opening of the Dunboyne to Clonsilla stretch of the new railway, with the full line operational by 2015.
It is understood that the guaranteed toll agreement with Eurolink is the first of its kind.
Counter
Traffic flows on the road are expected to reach 60,000 vehicles per day, but the NRA has not stated what the minimum target is.
Deputy Broughan said "It seems to be running counter to what would be generally accepted public transport policy. From every point of view it seems mad."
The same company was not given any minimum traffic guarantee for a section of the Dublin to Galway route it operates. The NRA defended its arrangement with Eurolink, saying it needed to attract as many bidders as possible.
According to the authority, the minimum traffic deal is based on annual rather than weekly or monthly levels and is "competitive".
The M3 project has been mired in controversy because of its route through a valley close to the historic hill of Tara.
It will have two toll plazas charging €2.80 each, resulting in an €11.20 daily fee for anyone commuting from north of Kells into Dublin.
The operators will make an estimated €580m over the 30-year contract.
The first phase of the Navan rail line will open next year -- a 7.5km stretch from the M3 interchange at Pace through to Clonsilla Station.
aphelan@herald.ie
- Andrew Phelan
