The country's tolled motorway network took a combined €92.7m hit on revenues last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic impact on traffic volumes.

That is according to new figures provided by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) which show that toll revenues declined by 26% or €92.7m from €357.4m in 2019 to €264.7m last year.

The figures provided to co-leader of the Social Democrats, Catherine Murphy TD by TII show that toll revenues on the country's busiest motorway, the M50 in Dublin reduced by 23% from €158.4m in 2019 to €121.6m last year.

The tolls generated on the M50 last year of €121.6m accounted for 46% of the €264.7m in toll revenues across the country’s 10 tolled routes last year

The largest month on month drop on the M50 was May during the first Covid-19 lockdown last year where toll revenues reduced by 68%.

The figures show that toll revenues for last May totalled €4.5m compared to revenues of €14m for the month of May in 2019. Toll revenues across the 10 tolled routes for the month of May reduced by 64% from €30.9m to €11m.

The busiest month of the year was a pre-Covid lockdown month in February where revenues for the 10 tolled routes amounted to €27.8m.

By August toll revenues on the M50 had rebounded to near normal levels as restrictions were loosened up with revenues totalling €11.79m compared to €12m for the same month in 2019.

However, revenues continued to drop for the remainder of 2020 as Covid-19 restrictions were tightened with toll revenues of €9.7m last December compared to €12.43m for December 2019.

Typically, motorists pay a €1.90 charge for tolled roads while Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) drivers can pay €6.20 to access tolled routes. The toll charges are paid to privately owned toll consortia who constructed the routes for TII.

Toll charges for the M50 range from €2.10 to €6.40 and a toll firm manages the tolled route for TII.

The Dublin Port tunnel had the largest percentage drop in tolled revenues where there was a 42% decrease to €12.87m in 2020.

Toll revenues on the Limerick tunnel were also hit hard where there was a 29% drop from €20.4m to €14.53m last year.

Revenues on the country's second busiest tolled route on the M1 Gormanstown to Monasterboice on the Dublin -Belfast route declined by 25% from €37.58m to €28.24m.

The figures show that toll revenues on the Clonee to Kells M3 motorway in Co Meath reduced by 22% from €21.3m to €16.6m.

There was a similar decline at the M7/M8 toll at Portlaoise where revenues declined by 24% from €21.9m in 2019 to €16m last year.

Figures for the M4 Kilcock/Kinnegad tolled route reduced by 29% from €37.12m in 2019 to €26.3m last year.

The TII reply concerning the country’s other tolled routes show that revenues for the M8 Rathcormaic Fermoy last year reduced by 17% to €13m while toll revenues for the M6 Galway to Ballinsaloe route reduced by 31% to €8.15m.

The least trafficked tolled in the country is the Waterford by-pass where toll revenues last year reduced by 19% to €7.3m last year.

Director of Corporate Communications with TII, Sean O’Neill said: "Revenues from TII’s tolling business pay for the M50 upgrade, including the maintenance and operation of the M50 motorway, and contribute to the funding of maintenance of the wider national roads network, including the Dublin Tunnel and the Jack Lynch Tunnel."