Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for clarifying that the reason there is no light rail in Galway is, officially, insufficient demand and that no economic or cost appraisal has ever been carried out in this regard. I ask the Minister to step outside his script and to revert to his response to an earlier question in which he spoke about seriously ambitious plans and imagination to lift cars off our roads.

I welcome the Minister's comment that Galway is a microcosm. Galway has a population of 80,000 and is one of the five cities destined to grow to a population of up to 120,000. In the words of Conor Faughnan, AA Ireland's director of consumer affairs, traffic congestion problems in a modestly sized city like Galway are embarrassingly bad. He has also spoken of the provision of light rail being an important part of the solution. Some 176 cities throughout Europe have embraced light rail or tram services. I ask the Minister to go back to his imagination and determination and to comment on the provision of a light rail service as the most sustainable solution to traffic congestion in Galway, while allowing us to comply with our commitments under climate change.

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