Brian Walsh (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The new routes before the public for consultation also compromise the integrity of ecological sites of international importance. That is precisely why the Supreme Court refused the first plan, having considered the advice of the European Court of Justice. The new rules will end up before the courts again. We need a solution to the gridlock in the city and for the brakes to be put on this process. The study area should be extended and other options should be considered outside the study area that do not have such a negative impact on people’s lives and will result in something to be delivered sooner and at a fraction of the cost to the Exchequer.

We expected that the National Roads Authority and local authorities would consider a variation on the original route and that an application would be made under the little used structure - imperative reasons of overriding public interest, IROPI. It is clear that there is an imperative reason of overriding public interest here, a well-established traffic gridlock in the city. Unfortunately, those adjudicating on the new plans decided otherwise and have considered routes closer to the city that can deliver an option but at huge cost to the State.

The Minister has been very good to Galway in recent months but I shudder to think what his reaction might be when I approach him and ask for €0.75 billion to construct 16 km of a ring-road around Galway. Would he accept that the funding is available to do this? He must accept that this will end up again in the High Court, Supreme Court and before the European Court of Justice. We need to put a halt to this. I ask the Minister to use his offices to get the NRA and the local authorities around the table to examine alternative routes.

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