Modern roads will not be developed everywhere without at least some road tolls, the Taoiseach told the Dail.
Defending Public Private Partnerships (PPP), Mr Ahern said the public sector would not have "thought of or dreamt of the west or east link" at the time, as the private sector did.
He was responding during Question Time to the Fine Gael leader, Mr Michael Noonan, who said that in the present financial situation with the budgetary surplus, there was no necessity to toll roads.
The National Roads Authority (NRA) was committed to applying tolls to 11 major road projects under the National Development Plan. He urged the Taoiseach to announce that the 11 roads would not be tolled but would continue by way of PPP.
Mr Noonan asked how the Taoiseach could justify tolls in some areas, especially in "the more disadvantaged areas", and not apply tolls in others.
Mr Ahern said the object was to get the inter-urban network up to a state-of-the-art level after years of neglect. Mr Joe Higgins (Ind) said that Private Public Partnership was nothing more than a "scam and a transparent one to divert large amounts of money from ordinary people into the coffers of major construction companies and big business interests".
Referring to the figures produced by the Fermoy group about the proposed bypass, Mr Higgins said that over a 30-year period £821 million would be collected for an input of £63 million. He said if figures were extended to the 11 other projects, approximately £13 billion would be collected for an input of £1 billion.
"Shadow tolls", in which the State would pay tolls to private consortiums based on the number of motorists using a road, would not raise any State revenue or fund future road construction, the Taoiseach said. "Motorists who choose to pay tolls will receive a higher level of road service . . " The option would exist of using older, untolled roads for those unwilling to pay the toll. Labour leader Mr Ruairi Quinn was concerned about the National Road Authority, which has responsibility for road projects. Sometimes the NRH refused to meet local groups, he said. The road development programme "will be inevitably delayed if there is not proper consultation and dialogue with communities directly affected". Otherwise, communities will "occupy the space and time of the courts".