Tara tolls hearing to begin

A public hearing on the tolling scheme for of the controversial M3 Clonee to Kells motorway is to begin on 17 January in the Ardboyne Hotel, Navan, five years after the scheme was announced. The hearing is being held by the National Roads Authority and will examine objections lodged in relation to the draft tolling scheme.

The M3 motorway will have two toll booths; one just north of the Hill of Tara and one south. The proposed toll charges, in 2000 prices are 87 cent for a car, 45 cent for a motorcycle and 1.30 for a bus or coach. These details were published by the NRA in 2002. Four objections to the scheme were lodged before May 2002. The NRA has refused to make the objections public as they say they do not have permission from the objectors to do so. One submission from Meath County Council, who said that the tolls would act as a deterrent to motorists and would cause them to use regional roads.

Recently the Save Tara Skryne Valley campaign expressed concerns that preparatory work for the construction of the toll road had begun, before the public hearing on the toll road has gone ahead. They argue that work cannot start on the toll road until the Public Private Partnership contract has been signed and this should not be signed until the public hearing is complete.

They said the preparatory work involved the establishment of a construction machinery depot south of Dunshaughlin.

The Save Tara Skryne Valley campaign also said they are planning to lodge a number of objections at the hearing if they are able to. They say the draft tolling scheme, published in 2002 is out of date and that they NRA should prepare an amended draft toll scheme, as they did for the Dublin port tunnel. In 2005 the NRA published an updated draft tolling scheme for the port tunnel as the original draft tolling scheme had been complied five years previously. Also the two tolls would add a substantial financial burden to commuters from Meath, who may also be paying tolls on the M50.

The hearing is being presided over by Dom Hegarty, and inspector with Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.