Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom filleadh ar an ábhar athrú aeráide, go háirid i gcomhthéacs na tuarascála damanta a d’fhoilsigh an áisíneacht EPA inniu agus an teachtaireacht láidir nach bhfuilimid chun ár spriocanna a chomhlíonadh. An teachtaireacht ba láidre ón tuarascáil sin ná go bhfuil sé thar am beart a dhéanamh de réir ár mbriathar.

I am returning to the issue of climate change in the context of Galway city and today's report from the EPA. The strong message from the EPA is that we need to stop talking and take action. This message comes after the UN Secretary-General stated:

Some Government and business leaders are saying one thing, but doing another. Simply put, they are lying. And the results will be catastrophic.

I am not interested in having a back and forth with smart comments. Let me pre-empt the Taoiseach's indignation and outrage by saying that I welcome the changes the Government has made to public transport. I say this in the context of Galway city. Táim ag díriú an spotsolas ar chathair na Gaillimhe, atá plúchta le truailliú tráchta, rud atá ag cur isteach ar mhuintir na cathrach, ar a gcuid sláinte agus ar ghnó na cathrach. I am asking the Taoiseach to stop the rhetoric and smart comments. I will not engage in them today; this is far too serious. We have a beautiful city, cathair dhátheangach ar thairseach na Gaeltachta is mó sa tír, smothered with traffic. We have a traffic plan that is not fit for purpose. Indeed, it was not fit for purpose in 2016.

I had the privilege of being mayor. With the co-operation of the councillors, we included park-and-ride facilities in the city development plan in 2005, but here we are however many years later and there are still no park-and-ride facilities in Galway. We have a National Transport Authority, NTA, without any sense of urgency or reality as regards climate change telling us that it is now looking at the eastern side of the city while utterly forgetting the western side.

I will speak about the positive changes that have occurred. There has been a reduction in transport fares, which begs the question as to why public transport has not been made completely free of charge, even on a pilot basis, given the astronomical climate challenges we are facing. Public transport works.

Regarding Galway, will the Taoiseach commit to having a feasibility study on light rail? The Minister for Transport has repeatedly stated, including no later than two or three weeks ago, that there is no problem with money. In 2018, 22,500 people signed a petition. I have repeatedly brought this matter to the attention of this and the previous Governments. I am simply asking for a feasibility study as one ingredient in the transformative change that Galway city needs.

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