Residents of Blanchardstown and Castleknock have reason to be very concerned at the impact of the suggested toll plans for the M50.

It appears that every section of the road is to be tolled even short trips such as the section from the Blanchardstown interchange to the Airport. Inevitably then many motorists will divert to roads which are not tolled and this may cause heavy additional congestion on local roads.

Also many large trucks will divert to free local roads in order to avoid the toll.

The suggested scheme will be an additional cost to many local residents whose journeys to work involve using the M50 on a daily basis.

I recognize that there is a substantial cost to the State in arranging barrier free use of the M50 not least the cost of buying out the NTR interest. There is also the huge cost of improvements to the road and to the interchanges.

However I doubt if the suggested toll scheme is the best approach. There is a 2 year period for looking at alternatives and I urge the Minister and the NRA to establish a mechanism for public consultation before a final decision is made.

One possibility is to hold a public enquiry such as those that are required for each LUAS scheme. Then the different options could be examined openly and organisations like the Automobile Association could outline their alternative proposals for paying the cost.

It is important too, that local organisations in Dublin 15 get the chance to examine how the proposals will affect our own areas and to suggest ways to prevent local roads becoming rat runs for heavy vehicles trying to avoid tolls.