The increase in tolls during the cost-of-living crisis is an absolute disgrace. The Government owns the M50 and the East-Link Bridge, and yet we see the tolls for these increase at a time when people are paying higher prices for cars and fuel and to service their cars. The research Aontú carried out shows the commuter has already paid €1.2 billion for the M50 toll in the past nine years. The commuter has paid for this infrastructure ten times over at this stage. The traffic congestion in our cities and towns is an absolute disgrace and people are now paying extra tolls for the joy of sitting in traffic for three hours. The Tánaiste said it was not the Government's responsibility. I understand that the Tánaiste, when he was Minister for Transport, was behind the development of Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, which is responsible for this through the Minister for Transport. The M50 and the East-Link bridge are the Government's infrastructure. It could scrap those tolls now if it wished.

These toll increases and their scale are very unwelcome. I am not happy about them at all. The M50 toll bridge is in my constituency and many people travel north and south through it twice per day. I am not happy with the toll increases at all. It is a statutory function of TII, not a Government decision, but we will take it up with TII when it publishes the details of the proposal, as required by legislation. I do not want to make a promise I cannot keep but I want make it very clear this came as a surprise to Government - it certainly came as a surprise to me - and we are not happy about it.