Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

With regard to Galway, I have regularly met the various people who rightly advocate for light rail in Galway. They make a very good case.

We have an immediate priority. We must build high-quality bus corridor routes from the likes of Barna to Taylor's Hill, the hospital and the university, through the town, through Eyre Square and out towards Parkmore. As I understand it, that is one of the two light rail routes that people have been considering. Similar to what we will need to do in Cork, we must identify key bus corridor routes and build them out. It will be politically difficult to get prioritisation on the road. That is the challenge, but it must be done in Galway and Cork with a view to being upgradable to light rail. That is the sequence we should have in mind. The key decision is the road space. Impressively, the people in Galway are considering a new technology that is coming on stream. It is very light rail, which would perfectly suit just such a staged approach of putting the bus corridor first, building passenger demand, showing that the demographics can work and changing transport patterns within the city, thereby making the case.

We will have to review the Galway transport strategy next year. That will be the perfect place to consider light rail options. However, we cannot delay. We must proceed not just with bus routes in Galway, but also with cycling infrastructure. Everyone knows that Galway is probably the area in the country worst affected by traffic. Everyone is living on one side of the city and working on the other, leading to major congestion. Public transport as well as cycling and other active travel solutions will be critical. By delivering them, it will set us on the path towards converting them into light rail routes. I understand that the latest thinking from the light rail community in Galway is along similar lines, namely, turning bus lanes into light rail lines using new, advanced and very light technology. I would be supportive of reviewing that idea next year as part of the review of the Galway transport strategy.