Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for choosing this matter for Topical Issue debate. I am glad the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, is here because I know she is more than familiar with what has happened in Galway. Many of her colleagues on the council have spoken out on this matter.

It is an issue I raise reluctantly as it should be managed locally. Unfortunately, the event last Sunday, part of an ongoing number of events known as Salthill Sunday, has caused consternation, upset, distress and serious traffic congestion. I spoke to gardaí in Salthill on this matter who said they are doing everything possible. I realise matters of this nature are for the Garda to deal with to a certain extent. I do not wish to intrude on Garda operational matters. However, it is much bigger than that.

All this week the local radio station has been inundated with contact from people affected by this event which has been going on for a number of weeks. It is an organised event but the Garda has told me it is not a controlled one. Therein lies the problem. Last Sunday, Galway came to a standstill. We have restaurants losing business. A person had to be airlifted to hospital because emergency services could not get through. We have had elderly people missing or being delayed for their appointments for vaccination. These are only some of the affected people. We have noise and air pollution, intimidation and people reporting that their children with disabilities have been seriously affected.

I do not want to go into anecdotes about this. However, I am raising it in the Dáil when I would prefer to be raising the housing or health services problems in Galway. It means I am taking this matter very seriously because the councillors have taken it very seriously. More importantly, the people of Galway are greatly distressed.

Members of An Garda Síochána are of the view that we should perhaps be looking at a venue for these car enthusiasts. Certainly, there is scope for that and it is a positive way of looking at it. In the meantime, however, to allow these organised but not controlled events to go on is simply unacceptable. This is bigger than the Garda and it has to work in collaboration with the management of the city council and the councillors, in the first instance to ensure there are enough community gardaí and community wardens on the ground and then to ensure the safety of the community, which is primarily in the Salthill and Claddagh areas, and also down at the Black Box Theatre, all areas with which the Minister of State is more than familiar. I ask the Minister of State to please not read from a script and tell me that it is an operational matter for the Garda. I am sure she will not do that and that she is as concerned as I am about this.

I am not a great Facebook person but what troubles me is that those who are organising this event are communicating through Facebook. They are telling us that they will persist in doing this until they get what they want. This is not a great way to ensure collaboration with the elected representatives and with the Garda. I seek a pragmatic and practical approach to this but at the top of the list must be the safety and enjoyment of the community areas for everyone and not just for car enthusiasts. I know many people who are not easily intimidated but when they tell me that they could not cycle their bike or turned back and would not walk, then I know there is something radically wrong with these events. I will stop at this point and ask the Minister of State to deal with this issue.

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