Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an gComhaontas Ghlas as ucht an rúin seo a chur os comhair na Dála. Sílim gur fear stuama é an Aire a thuigeann rudaí nuair a dhíríonn sé isteach orthu. Tá sé soiléir go bhfuil easpa tuiscine i measc lucht an Rialtais ó thaobh cé chomh práinneach is atá sé go ndéanfaidís beart de réir a mbriathar ó thaobh athrú aeráide de. Before the Minister leaves, he might remember that I raised the issue of light rail with him in 2017. I have written to him about this matter and I will be in contact again with him. He was very open to the concept of light rail at the time but he said there was no demand. We have shown since that there is demand. Almost 23,000 signatures, 22,500 to be precise, have been collected. The Gluas team also published a report on this issue last month. We are seeking an opportunity to present to the Minister and show him there is a sustainable way to deal with traffic congestion in Galway city. Our plan would also enable the Minister to comply with his obligations regarding climate mitigation and climate change objectives.

Regarding this motion, I am going to focus on Galway not for any parochial reasons but because the city is a microcosm of what is happening in the country. It is a city thriving on one level. It has employment, three hospitals and two universities. I could go on but I have less than four minutes. The point is that the city should not have problems. We should not have a housing problem because we have plenty of land and we should not have a traffic problem because public transport is the solution, or a major part of the solution. In the 20 years since I was elected in 1999, I have seen more reports than I can count. The latest one was the Galway transport strategy in 2016. Not one of those reports have been implemented in any reasonable way because of the utter reliance on an outer bypass. The first outer bypass ended up as a cul-de-sac and the second one is going to be the most expensive piece of road in the history of road making. It will cost some €600 million, and that is a conservative estimate, for 17 km or over €30 million per kilometre.

The transport strategy in Galway city is utterly premised on that road. A programme to roll it out is still being worked on with the National Transport Authority three years later. As Deputy Eamon Ryan stated, it is already out of date, as is the business plan on which it is based. There is also no mention of climate change in it. It is equally worrying that it will not solve traffic congestion. The strategy is at odds with the national planning framework which contains sustainability goals throughout, the Citizens' Assembly's 13 recommendations, all of the reports that have been written and with what the people of the country want.

There is a golden opportunity now that fits in with the Minister's Project Ireland 2040 plan. Galway is one of five cities destined to grow within its existing footprint. It makes absolute sense to build up an integrated public transport system. Practical steps can be taken immediately. The frequency of rail services can be increased from the existing stations at Oranmore, Athenry and Ballinasloe. Bus services from Galway to Connemara can be extended and increased. Park-and-ride is in our city development plan since 2005 but nothing has happened. It could be rolled out. Cycleways and greenways can also be rolled out and that will remove school traffic from our roads. Those are just some of the practical, positive suggestions that would allow this Government to comply with sustainable development and, most importantly, deal with climate change.

See this speech in context