The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
THE company operating the Shannon Tunnel lost over €6.7 million in 2013, despite having the benefit of a generous Government subsidy. The mounting losses of €15 million over a two-year period have prompted calls for Transport Minister, Pascal Donohoe to introduce new measures to attract more traffic for the tunnel. Irish Hauliers Association president, Eoin Gavin believes the reintroduction of toll-free journeys for heavy goods vehicles (HGV) would result in a number of financial and environment benefits for the company and the Government. Last November, the total number of HGVs using the Shannon Tunnel jumped by a massive 70%, when former transport minister Leo Varadkar introduced toll-free journeys for trucks, who no longer had to pay €6.10 per journey. While Minister Varadkar suggested this pilot initiative should be continued, this wasn’t done and trucks started bypassing the tunnel once more. Mr Gavin stressed there were a number of benefits arising out of the continuation of the initiative, such as increasing …
Read More »