Report of the Local Government Efficiency Review Group

10.2.6 To date, the emphasis of tolling policy has been on the public-private
partnerships (PPPs) for national roads (with the exceptions being the M50
electronic toll and the Dublin Port Tunnel). The Eastlink Bridge is an
example of a toll scheme on a non-national road. The 9 current PPP toll
projects have raised over €2 billion in the period 2006 to 2010. The Group
believes that there is scope for raising further revenue for investment in
national, regional and local roads by introducing new tolling schemes on
national roads (both new and existing), based on an equitable distribution of
tolling points across the national roads network and to broaden the base of
tolling revenue across a greater number of road users. The Group
understands that the extension of tolling is currently under consideration by
Government. It is difficult to quantify the possible revenue until an NRA
(National Roads Authority) scoping study that is currently underway is
completed and a Government decision is made. Depending on traffic
volumes, and the particular tolling schemes chosen, it might in the medium
term raise in the region of €50-100 million gross for investment in road
improvements and maintenance. Following Government approval in
principle and completion of the preparatory studies, the Group understands
that there is an average lead-in time of 12-20 months for tolling schemes on
existing roads, allowing for design of the tolling system, public consultation,
and statutory approval. For a toll on a new road, the road construction
timetable will be the determining factor.
10.2.7 The Group took note of some of the proposals (such as the DTO’s Greater
Dublin Area Travel Demand Management study) on congestion charging as
a means of promoting a more responsible use of road capacity and to
encourage modal shifts to other forms of transport. Congestion charging is
a logical ‘next step’ to tolling and encouraging moves from private vehicles
to public transport. While this is a longer term project, it is in line with
promoting a greater shift to public transport.
10.2.8 An important support to the roads-related work of local authorities comes
from the 11 Regional Design Offices (RDOs) located in Cork, Limerick,
Kerry, Kildare, Waterford, Donegal, Galway, Mayo, Meath, Roscommon and
Westmeath. These offices are staffed largely by local authority personnel,
funded by the NRA, and established to support the NRA and local
authorities in their joint efforts to deliver the national roads programme.
Some RDOs support individual counties, while others support several
counties.
10.2.9 The RDOs have been engaged primarily in managing major national road
projects through planning, and in the case of non-PPP projects, through
construction. The Group consider that this specialised support role should
be extended to other aspects of the roads function, including the
management of non-PPP major projects, strategic regional road projects,
asset and network management and rehabilitation work. In light of the
reducing number of major roads projects, this additional workload could be
accommodated within existing staff complements, while also having the
effect of freeing up local authority staff for other duties. Apart from the
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