Town tolls must be removed for August Fleadh at the least

I have sought a meeting with the Minister for Transport Shane Ross TD to remove the sliproad tolls in Drogheda. This is an issue that I have been pushing for years, and I am urging the Minister to take action as a matter of urgency.

This year the Fleadh Cheoil is taking place in Drogheda. This will be one of the biggest cultural events to take place in the town and we look forward to welcoming a huge number of visitors for the event during the summer.

It is vitally important that the tolls are removed ahead of the fleadh. At the very least the tolls need to be removed for the duration of this event, should a permanent removal not be possible by August.

If the tolls are not removed by then we will have a very difficult situation for visitors who will be charged tolls every time they move from one side of the town to the other. There will be traffic chaos in the town and it will have a hugely detrimental effect on the event and on the town as a tourist destination.

I have asked the Minister to contact Transport Infrastructure Ireland ahead of our meeting, in order to have the tolls removed for the duration of the Fleadh Cheoil. I have been constantly raising the issue of the need for the tolls to be removed permanently with the Minister since he took office, and I hope that in the interim, at the very least, he facilitates the removal of the tolls for the duration of the Fleadh.