The Chairman of the company operating the M50 tollbridge has told the Oireachtas Committee of Public Accounts that it could cost the taxpayer €600 million to buy out its franchise.
Jim Barry of National Toll Roads also disclosed that even after the Government bought it out, it would still have to negotiate with his company when it comes to upgrading the 3km section of the M50 for which NTR has the concession, even though the stretch is ultimately owned by the State.
The revelation prompted Fianna Fáil Deputy Sean Fleming to observe 'shame on whoever negotiated that deal'.
Mr Barry said the National Roads Authority has not spoken to him about any plan to accommodate trucks that will be obliged to use the M50 when the Port Tunnel opens later this year.
He said the M50 was operating at full capacity at the moment, even before the 2,000 extra heavy goods vehicles begin to use it.
Mr Barry reiterated that the tollbridge was not the cause of congestion on the M50.
The NTR chairman offered to show committee members by helicopter the traffic patterns on the M50. He said these indicated that the gridlock was caused by the roads feeding on to the motorway.
Fred Barry of the NRA denied there had been any lack of urgency in his body's negotiations with the tollbridge operators.
However, he told the committee that its legal advice was that the contract with NTR was so vague that it did not provide any legal remedies to the roads authority if it wished to sue over the level of service being provided by the company.
He said the NRA had not sent threatening legal letters over the service provided by NTR, because there would not have been any point.
