Cllr calls for toll costs to be reduced

Fianna Fáil’s Áine Smith painted a stark picture of the daily grind facing commuters travelling from Cavan to Dublin for work, warning that the simple act of getting to work has become an expensive ordeal for hundreds of families.

Every morning before dawn, she said, commuters from Cavan climb into their cars, vans and lorries and set off for Dublin - not by choice, but out of necessity. With “limited” public transport options available, the road is often the only route to employment. But that road is coming at an increasingly heavy price.

For some of those travelling to Dublin, the journey means paying not one but two tolls every single day: the M3 and the M50. Individually, each charge might seem modest. But together, repeated day after day, they become a relentless drain on household finances.

A commuter with an eFlow tag, she told the January monthly meeting of Cavan County Council, pays around €1.80 each way on the M3 and €2.60 each way on the M50. That is €44 every week- money gone before fuel, insurance, servicing or repairs are even considered.

Over the course of a working year, Cllr Smith said, those tolls alone amount to more than €2,100. For working families already struggling with rising living costs, she says that figures into the purchase of essentials such as groceries, school expenses or heating the home through the winter.

“This is a disproportionate and ongoing financial burden,” she warned, stressing that Cavan are commuters are being penalised for having to travel to earn a living.

As such Cllr Smith called on Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the Government to finally acknowledge the unfairness of the current toll regime. She urged the Minister for Transport to engage directly with TII and relevant stakeholders to examine targeted measures that would ease the pressure on frequent commuters, such as introducing a possible tax relief or refundable credit that would recognise toll charges as legitimate, employment-related expenses. Such a move, she argued, would provide tangible relief to workers who are effectively paying a daily access fee just to get to their jobs.

“For too long,” she said, “Cavan commuters have quietly carried this burden. It is time their voices were heard, and time real action was taken.”

Her motion was widely supported within the council chamber.

Independent Ireland's Shane P. O'Reilly lauded her tax credit proposal.

He said that many families and businesses were paying a “small fortune” on toll costs. He himself had experienced the impact recently, and stated the “mind boggles” trying to understand where the money generated was going if not into maintaining and upgrading the roads.

Fianna Fáil's Clifford Kelly and Patricia Walsh also backed their party colleague, as did Fine Gael's Trevor Smith and T.P. O'Reilly.

Sinn Féin's Damien Brady meanwhile said he was shocked to learn reading the Celt just how much one local business was paying in tolls per week.

Others to support the motion include Winston Bennett (FG) and Cathaoirleach John Paul Feeley, who said the region is “badly served” after the M3 ends.

To offer nothing would be a continued “disservice”.