Minister For Transport Accused Of Failing To Address M50 Capacity

Sinn Féin has criticised the Minister for Transport, Shane Ross, for his "failure to address the serious capacity issues on the M50 motorway".

Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Transport, Imelda Munster, has asked Ross to come clean on whether he intends to introduce multi-point tolling in an effort to reduce the number of vehicles using the road.

Deputy Munster said: "At a recent meeting of the Oireachtas Transport Committee, the CEO of Transport Infrastructure Ireland put forward multi-point tolling as a remedy to this issue.

"No other option was proposed. The CEO also stated that this is a political decision for government.

"I am asking Minister Ross to clarify whether he intends to introduce this measure.

"The M50 is at capacity. Motorists are spends hours every day stuck in traffic.

"This is primarily due to poor planning, underinvestment, and lack of joined up thinking from successive governments.

"Is this the Minister's automatic go-to response? Is he going to penalise motorists, yet again, because he has no plan to reduce vehicles on the M50?

"It is not the fault of motorists that the government has not invested or planned for sustainable transport or adequate infrastructure to deal with the level of traffic on the roads.

"I have written to Minister Ross seeking clarity on this matter, and I intend to raise it with him next week in the Dáil."

(MH/LM)