Proposed ‘tolling’ of airport drop-off zones is nonsensical – Doherty

A Fingal Senator has strongly criticised plans to place tolls on drop-off zones at Dublin Airport.

Fingal County Council has granted planning permission to the DAA for new road infrastructure at Terminals One and Two.

Senator Regina Doherty said, “What the planners at Fingal County Council have just approved is nonsensical. In short, the proposal is to charge motorists for dropping off and collecting family members and friends at the airport terminals.

“That means that if I’m dropping off my son or daughter at the airport before they jet off for a weekend away, I’ll have to pay for the few seconds it takes them to take their suitcase out of the boot and head into the terminal.

“At a stage, following the pandemic, where more and more people are starting to go abroad again, it’s incredible that the authorities are even considering penalising something like that.

“According to the DAA, who operate Dublin Airport, the new system aims to ‘reduce car journeys to and from the airport.’ They say they want to encourage people to make greater use of public transport. That would be great if our public transport system was adequate.

“Dublin is one of the very few capital cities in Europe with no rail link to its airport. We are waiting far too long for MetroLink, and with hints of unacceptable further delays to that critical project, it looks like we’ll be waiting even longer.

“Our bus network is not up to scratch either. There are limited services to major towns and cities across the country, and suburban bus routes are inadequate in terms of frequency or capacity for the demand that would be placed upon them.

“I understand that the DAA aims to have this new system up and running by the second half of 2022. There is still time to appeal Fingal County Council’s planning permission, and I will certainly be doing just that.”