Hauliers seek meeting with Taoiseach over toll increases, with renewed protests considered

Hauliers have reacted with anger to plans for road toll increases next year, with Ger Hyland, president of the Irish Road Haulage Association, describing the hikes as “extortion”.

On Friday, it was announced that all 10 tolls on the national road network are set to rise after approval from the board of Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), with increases ranging from 10 cent on the M50 toll to €1 at Dublin Tunnel.

Speaking to The Irish Times, Hyland said he will be seeking a meeting with Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien and will be “pushing them to get this stopped or suspended”.

Hyland said the planned increases were “price gouging” and “tone deaf”.

“The M50 generated €216.3 million last year, Dublin Port Tunnel generated an additional €35 million; this is mad money,” he said.

The planned increases were announced at a time when many members of the association “can’t afford to put fuel in their vehicles”, Hyland said.

“And that’s not scaremongering. That is exactly the way it is. And we’re paying 60 cents, 80 cents a litre more than we were paying for diesel this time last year,” he said.

Asked what his message to Martin and O’Brien would be, Hyland said: “They need to rein it in”.

“The anger out there is palpable... it really is palpable,” he added.

Asked if he thought it could lead to a similar event to April’s nationwide fuel protests, Hyland said: “Desperate times make desperate people.”

Announcing the increases, which are due to come into effect from January, TII said tolling income supports its functions and activities “relating to the operation, maintenance and life-cycle asset management of the national roads network”.

“TII is required under legislation to maintain a safe and efficient network of national roads,” it said.

James Geoghegan, a key figure during the fuel protests and blockades in April, said those involved were “definitely” considering staging similar action next month, adding: “We don’t need much time to plan”.

He described the toll increases as “madness” and “just criminal”.

“It’s another major cost. It’s rising the cost of doing business in this country and the Government just don’t understand how businesses work and the effect that rising costs have on them,” he said.

Geoghegan said those who took part in April’s blockades have been in consistent contact, adding there is an “appetite” to organise a protest to coincide with the work-to-rule action by rank-and-file gardaí next month.

The industrial action by Garda members will take place during high-profile EU presidency events from November 10th to November 14th, including the European Political Community meeting and an informal meeting of the EU heads of state or government.

Geoghegan, an agricultural contractor based in Co Westmeath, said any protest would be in response to the “rising cost of everything”.

“We want more done on fuel but we want more done on electricity, we want more done on heating oil,” he said.

“I would have been hoping some of those tolls would be nearly scrapped altogether,” he said, adding the increases are “adding insult to injury”.

Although the supports introduced by the Government to assist with rising fuel costs have helped, Geoghegan noted prices have risen again.

“We’re watching it the whole time… we’re talking to other organisations and the other groupings and we’ll be talking over the next few weeks.”

Geoghegan said a protest would likely be limited to one day in the capital, rather than the prolonged blockades seen earlier this year, noting that such action is “expensive”.

However, “everything is an option at the moment”, he added.