Confirmation that National Toll Roads (NTR) is to raise its charges again in January has further angered Irish motorists who already face some of the highest motoring costs in Europe.
The increased charges will see up to 100,000 motorists a day paying a minimum of €1.80 each time they pass through the West-Link toll plaza on the M50, Ireland's busiest motorway. Commercial operators will be even harder hit, with large articulated lorries being charged €5.60.
Since the announcement, the AA says it has received thousands of calls from car drivers angry over the new West-Link charges. "Motorists are furious over the new charges," said Conor Faughnan, public affairs manager at AA Ireland. "This is the fourth price rise in just over three years. We are struggling to see the justification for it and much of the blame is with the government, which is sitting on its hands and taking over 50 per cent of the revenue."
NTR says the €23m price tag of its second West-Link toll bridge, which opened in 2003, is the cause of the latest toll increase.
The company has confirmed that motorists crossing Dublin's East-Link bridge will also face a price increase in the New Year.
Commercial vehicles using Ireland's third toll road, the M1 North-Link, will also face higher charges, although car drivers using the motorway will not pay extra.
Jimmy Quinn, communications director of the Irish Road Haulage Association, is furious about the increase on the M1. "This is the third increase in 12 months," he says. "They may have a legal right to do this, but it's morally unsustainable."
Full 2004 figures have not yet been released, but it's clear that NTR enjoys substantial profits from its toll enterprises. The group's pre-tax profits soared by 63 per cent during the first six months of 2004, helped by turnover from its toll operations which jumped by almost a quarter to over €21m.
Profits from its three toll plazas was almost €8 million in the first six months of 2004, up over €2 million on the same period for 2003. This indicates a daily pre-tax profit of €44,000, or €1,800 an hour from the three toll operations. On a busy day the toll gates take money from over 140,000 motorists.
The good times are expected to continue for NTR. Tony McClafferty, managing director of NTR's roads division, explained: "Although our final results have not yet been published, we are pretty well on target for another good year.