Taxpayers penalised over tunnel’s low usage

IRISH taxpayers have been hit by a major compensation bill after official confirmation that the new €660 million Shannon Tunnel attracted 3,500 fewer motorists on a daily basis than originally anticipated.
To avoid penalty payments, 17,000 vehicles need to pass through the Shannon Tunnel every day under a 30-year Public Private Partnership (PPP) deal agreed between the National Roads Authority (NRA) and the operators, Direct Route.
NRA spokesman, Seán O’Neill, has confirmed that the average daily usage of the Shannon Tunnel since it opened last July has been in the region of 13,500.
The Ennis man dismissed the notion that the deal represented some kind of “gravy train” for the developers as the Government only paid 90% of the company’s debt level payments, leaving it to cover the cost of the remaining 10% in addition to running costs.
This deal only applies to the Shannon Tunnel and the M3 motorway, which has prompted criticism from some public representatives as to why commuters using the Jack Lynch Tunnel in Cork don’t have to pay any tolls compared to motorists in the Mid-West using the Shannon Tunnel.
Mr O’Neill explained that under the PPP a number of different options are presented depending on the overall cost and risk factor associated with a particular project.
He added that the Government had to sign up to the present deal to ensure that it attracted a number of top-quality bids from construction companies during the tender process to ensure value for money.
Limerick Sinn Féin Councillor Maurice Quinlivan has proposed that the Government should consider putting measures in place to reduce the current level of tolls or to have a charge for motorists travelling in one direction from Limerick to Ennis in order to ensure the road met its full potential.
Councillor Quinlivan told The Clare Champion predictions that up to 20,000 motorists would use the new tunnel on a daily basis had proved wide of the mark.
He warned the tunnel wouldn’t reach its full potential because it was being tolled and stressed it would be far more effective easing traffic congestion in South-East Clare and Limerick City if the toll was removed.
He expressed concern that taxpayers could end up paying millions of euro in penalties during the lifetime of the contract because the tunnel wasn’t meeting its baseline target of 17,000 motorists.again expressed his disappointment with the fact that the Limerick Tunnel was built under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) with severe disadvantages to motorists and taxpayers.“This tunnel is far too close to the city centre and the toll too high for many motorists for it to reach its maximum potential of removing traffic from the streets of Limerick City.
“This road project was approved by the Government at a time when the country’s coffers were awash with money. There was no need for the Government to have a PPP to build this project. There certainly was no need to agree a penalty clause at such a potentially huge cost to the taxpayers,” he said.
“The policy of tolling motorists has been a disaster in Dublin on the M50 and the Government should not have repeated this mistake at the expense of Limerick and Clare motorists.
“Will we be in a similar situation in a number of years, where a future government will have to buy out the Shannon Tunnel, as was done with the M50 toll charges at huge expense? The fact that Limerick people are paying for a tunnel is in stark contrast to the situation with the toll-free Jack Lynch Tunnel in Cork. However, the fact that taxpayers, many of whom will never use the tunnel, will pay for the penalties imposed is outrageous,” he added.
Mr O’Neill added that if the Government had an endless supply of finance and didn’t have to build hospitals, schools and other public facilities, it would be in a position to pay for the cost of providing major infrastructure projects such as the Shannon Tunnel.
He confirmed the existing tolls couldn’t be reduced under the terms of the contract and were directly linked to the consumer price index when it came to approving price increases.
Direct Route has projected the new tunnel would remove about 27,000 vehicles from Limerick City and has the capacity to accommodate 40,000 vehicles over the coming years.
Part of the development consists of a 675m tunnel under the bed of the River Shannon. There are 9.75k of two-lane dual carriageway and 2.3k of single lane carriageway.
There are two toll plazas at Rossbrien and Coonagh, with charges of €1.80 for cars and €5.70 for large trucks.
It involved four years of construction and almost four million man hours. Under the public private arrangement, Direct Route will take ownership of the tunnel motorway for the next 30 years.