The High Court ruled that the maximum tolls for the M1 motorway between Gormanston and Monasterboice in 2011 had to be calculated under Regulations 14.2 and 14.3 of the toll bye-laws. It declared that Celtic Roads Group (Dundalk) Limited was charging above those limits and in breach of the bye-laws.
The judgment, delivered by Mr Justice Kelly on 11 March 2011, followed a dispute with the National Roads Authority (NRA) over how tolls should change when the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose slightly after falling the previous year. Celtic was charging €1.90 for a car. The NRA argued the 2011 maximum was €1.80.
The bye-laws set a formula for maximum tolls based on the CPI. Regulation 14.5 provides for years when the CPI is unchanged or has fallen: tolls are then capped by the previous year’s maximum. The CPI fell in August 2009, and that rule allowed Celtic to continue charging €1.90 per car in 2010, although the judgment said the calculated maximum was €1.80. The CPI rose slightly in August 2010. The NRA said the ordinary calculation rules therefore applied for 2011.
Celtic argued that the bye-laws were intended to allow tolls only to rise, and that applying the ordinary formula would produce an absurd result because the maximum car toll would fall despite the CPI increase. It also argued that the rules were obscure. Celtic had initially raised estoppel and legitimate expectation arguments based on alleged representations, but abandoned them for this case after accepting they had no direct bearing on the question of construction.
Justice Kelly held that Regulation 14.5 applied only when the CPI was static or decreasing. He rejected Celtic’s proposed reading, finding that it would rewrite the rule. He also rejected the claims of absurdity and obscurity, noting that the 2010 toll had benefited from what the NRA called a “cushion” under Regulation 14.5.
The court declared the 2011 maximums to be €0.90 for motorcycles, €1.80 for cars, €3.20 for buses or coaches and smaller goods vehicles, €4.50 for heavier goods vehicles with two or three axles, and €5.70 for heavier goods vehicles with four or more axles. It also declared that Celtic’s tolls exceeded the permitted maximums and contravened the bye-laws. The judge said he would grant an injunction to end the overcharging in the absence of an appropriate undertaking; the source does not state whether such an undertaking was given or an injunction ultimately issued.