The decision by the National Roads Authority (NRA) to oppose any attempt to open service stations on our expanding motorway network goes against the accepted practice of our European counterparts.
In its recent annual report, the NRA, which has responsibility for the planning and construction of motorways and dual carriageways, has confirmed it will object to applications to build service stations along motorways - though it has since indicated it will clarify this position later today.
It said in its report that because services already exist in towns and villages which are being bypassed, there is no need to build further stations at the roadside.
Such a policy goes against the position adopted in European states with more experience in developing and maintaining motorway networks. In Germany for instance, there are more than 700 service stations, petrol stations, motels and kiosks providing 24-hour service for motorists on about 11,000km of autobahn network - an average of one every 16km. Irish drivers can now travel from Dundalk to Portlaoise without passing any service stations. That is a distance of some 150km.
This is not only an issue of convenience, but also one of safety. Under the NRA policy, motorists must leave a motorway, regarded as the safest type of road, and drive several miles on largely non-primary routes to find a service area.
A case can be made that motorway services will harm small businesses in bypassed towns. However, a solution, put forward by the employers' organisation, Ibec, is that restrictions could be placed on the number of service areas on motorways, consistent with safety.
Also, better motorway signage can help towns to maintain passing trade. Experience in the US suggests that bypassed towns can do a lot themselves to market facilities in such a way as to capture motorway trade.
The argument that the existing network of filling stations is large enough to cater for demand ignores the fact that it is not simply about the number of stations but rather about their location. For larger commercial vehicles in particular, the idea that they should have to leave the motorway for a rest stop or to refuel seems anathema to the very principle of bypasses, which is to get large vehicles out of small towns.
The rest of Europe, with a network of motorways far superior to ours and upon which we should be modelling our own system, follows a format of building service areas to ensure that large volumes of traffic are catered for without leaving the motorways. It would seem logical to follow this pattern.