The Minister for Transport has decided not the raise the height of the roof of the Dublin Port Tunnel.
Mr Seamus Brennan discussed the cost and engineering implications of raising the clearance heights for trucks with representatives of Dublin City Council this evening.
They dicussed raising the height of the roof from the designated 4.6 metres to the National Roads Authority's motorway standard of 5.3 metres to allow so-called "supertrucks" to use the tunnel.
However, Mr Brennan said tonight he had decided to leave the tunnel as planned. The "supertrucks", which he said only made up one per cent of the total of all trucks on the road, would instead be banned from Irish roads, on "environmental and safety concerns".
"There is no need to interfere with the height of the tunnel in any way," Mr Brennan said.
Since construction on the Port Tunnel began two years ago, it has been suggested that the 4.6 metre height specification may not be high enough to accommodate certain HGV vehicles.
The Irish Road Haulage Association say that they would approve of any move to raise the height of the tunnel.
The Green Party transport spokesman, Mr Eamon Ryan TD, earlier called on Mr Brennan to introduce height restrictions on trucks using the tunnel.
"It seems incredible that a project that is hundreds of millions of euro over budget and years late could be put on hold to provide for a higher clearance for new super trucks.
"The Minister should proceed with the proposed truck height restrictions, which are common in several other European countries," Mr Ryan said. "The Government should also live up to their commitment once the tunnel opens to ban city centre truck access from Dublin Port."