Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We should grasp a few things from this meeting. Mr. Brian Coll made suggestions on easy things that could be done to help traffic flow in Galway. I call on the National Transport Authority to collaborate with him to see if we can make Galway a pilot project in introducing Waze immediately. It would be something positive to come from this discussion.

Everybody has a gripe, but we should not talk ourselves out of attracting industry. IDA Ireland is a victim of its own success, but it has a responsibility when building parks. I remember building at Parkmore when I worked in the private sector in construction. We built a lot of the factories, including some stuff for Medtronic, but nobody had the vision to assess capacity and provide for infrastructure-led development to maximise it. IDA Ireland needs to look at how it designs parks and the width of carriageways has to change. On the other side of the road the carriageways are all single-lane. Local authorities also have to future proof the developments IDA Ireland business parks. We have proved that we can get the numbers and create the best products in the world and need to design our infrastructure to match it.

Little things can make a big difference. I believe a commuter rail service would make a difference to Galway. The clearest artery from Tuam and Claremorris into Eyre Square is the railway line, but there is no rail service in those places. There are 13 acres of land in Tuam which could be developed into a transport hub, with park and ride facilities and private bus services to take people into Galway every day. Those who car-pool should also be allowed to use bus lanes. We should try it for a month or six weeks to see how it would changes people's habits. We would not have to spend millions in doing so.

Galway City Council and Galway County Council own Galway Airport. A park and ride facility could be provided, but bus lanes are needed on the ring road around the city. It baffles me why buses do not travel over the Quincentennial bridge to create a loop. It would not cost money to do it, although a line might need to be painted on the road. There is also space in the area from the airport to Parkmore, up to GMIT, across to the city centre, out to the hospital and the university and back out over the bridge. There has been talk of the provision of a bus lane from Claregalway to the city, but there are issues with the last leg of the route and some businesses are not happy with it. Bus operators do not need to have the bus lane right into the city, but if there was one as far as Leader's shop, they could come back out. It works in Claregalway village, where there is no bus lane through the village. These are small things that would not cost money, but they would take away the frustrating delays. We need to change the mindset where we do nothing until we have it all right.

I was in China last year for St. Patrick's Day. I was in a train station where 14 platforms had been built, even though only one was in operation. They had been built for the future. While I am not saying we should build 14 in Galway, we should build on the basis of the projections up to 2040. A project manager is required to manage traffic at Parkmore in order that there would be no distraction and it could be dealt with successfully. Everybody wants to do something and to do it right, but there are some quick fixes. The most important for me is getting Waze into Galway as a pilot project in order that we can become the leader in it in this country.