Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi and Land Rover are some of the high end luxury car models that have been seized by the Dublin Sheriff from motorists to date this year who have racked up large bills concerning the non-payment on M50 tolls.
New figures show that the Dublin Sheriff has seized 43 vehicles for the first six months of 2025 and this represents a 78% increase on the seizure rate for the same period in 2024 when 25 cars were seized.
In total 70 vehicles were seized by the sheriff in 2024, through the civil process in the courts.
Vehicle seizures only occur following repeated offences and unsuccessful attempts to rectify the evaders position.
A spokesman for eFlow said the outstanding M50 bills where the sheriff seized vehicles for the first six months of this year range in value.
He said that those bills must be paid off before motorists can reclaim their cars from the sheriff.
The eFlow spokesman said: "The seizing of vehicles is the final act in a series of opportunities for toll evaders to rectify the situation, there is a process for owners to reclaim cars after agreements on payments are reached".
Along with the likes of Mercedes Benz, Audi A6, Audi A8, Land Rover and BMW cars seized this year, the sheriff has also seized the likes of Volkswagen Golf, Skoda Kodiaq, Nissan Navara, Opel Mokka, Ford Focus, Renault Kadjar and Volkswagen Transporter vehicles.
Commercial vehicles such as Ford Transit, Peugeot Partner, large goods and construction vehicles are also seized from toll evaders.
In the latest annual figures available, toll income on the country's busiest road, the M50, surged by 11% to €190m in 2023, on the back of an inflation linked increase in toll charges and higher traffic volumes.
The €190m in toll income - which goes to the State after costs of operating the M50 toll are taken into account - included €12.4m in penalty income and was €17.6m ahead of the M50 toll income of €172.4m in 2022.
The confirmed toll income for the M50 will be even higher for 2024 with a second inflation linked toll increase coming into force from January 1 last year.
The e-Flow spokesman said: "Enforcement is about fairness for the 97% of the road users who do pay their toll".
"The M50 eFlow barrier free tolling enforcement programme is overseen by Pierse Fitzgibbon (PF) Solicitors and the compliance rate one of the best in the world," he added.
In addition to the powers of seizure, toll evaders may also be pursued through the criminal courts and failure to attend court can lead to the issuance of a bench warrant.
In 2025 over 70 vehicle owners have been prosecuted with court fines amounting to €1.3m, payable to the court services and resulting in a criminal conviction.
These fines are separate to the debt owed to eFlow, for which the vehicle owner remains liable.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
