Taoiseach: No congestion charge plans for Cork city

Cork’s motorists will not be hit with congestion charges on entering the city centre in the immediate future, An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has clarified in the Dáil.

Environment Minister Ryan presented a document called the National Demand Management Strategy to the Cabinet on Tuesday, which contains plans to free up road space in urban areas, first to accommodate better public transport and active travel.

The strategy, which is outlined as a key action in Climate Action Plan 2023, will take a year to complete and will involve widespread public consultation, according to a statement published by the Department of Transport on Tuesday.

There were concerns that private car users could be hit with a daily congestion charge of up to €10 per day, as in London and elsewhere, alongside higher parking charges.

However, “Government fully recognises that any demand management measures being considered, such as road space reallocation, car-free zones and user charging will only be effective and equitable when alternative, public transport options are readily available, both in urban and rural areas,” according to the document.

In the Dáil on Tuesday, Solidarity and Socialist Party TD for Cork North Central Deputy Mick Barry TD, asked the Taoiseach about his position on congestion charges, and if he understood “the scale of the public opposition which will emerge should your Government decide to go down this road.” 

Mr Varadkar said Mr Ryan “had been very clear” on this issue. 

“There is no proposal from this Government to introduce congestion charges. 

Perhaps at some point down the line, when the Metro is picking up people in Dublin Airport, when the DART to Dublin 15 and to Kildare is up and running, when Cork Metropolitan Transport is operating, perhaps at that point in time, when all vehicles are electric and there are taxes coming in from petrol and diesel, perhaps at that time there is a case for congestion charges,” he said.

“But certainly not under this Government and not in the foreseeable future, and I’m very happy to be very clear on that.” 

Mr Varadkar said the Government is carrying out a public consultation “on how we can achieve on what we want to achieve when it comes to emissions.” 

“That is to reduce the number of journeys by car by about 20 per cent and reduce emissions by about 50 per cent by the end of the decade." 

The main issues will be road space re-allocation, and also making public transport cheaper and more affordable.

“We’ve done that and that’s why more people are using it,” he said.