Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The announcement last Friday regarding the proposed ring road for Galway city whereby An Bord Pleanála stated it will not contest the judicial review of the project is devastating news for the people of Galway. Some national media outlets are reporting the project is now dead in the water. I note the matter is still before the courts and a judge has to make a determination. It is important that we respect the judicial process. The reason I raise this in the Dáil is to ask why it takes so long for a project of this magnitude to go through the planning process. As I stated previously, I was elected to Galway County Council in June 1999. The first project before us at the time was to provide a Galway city outer bypass, as it was called then.

A total of €14.7 million was spent on the initial Galway city outer bypass plan before the project was abandoned after a European court ruling in 2013. Two years after that, Arup was appointed to come up with a new proposal, which was called the N6 Galway city ring road. The outlay to date on the current Galway city ring road project is more than €21.3 million. This means more than €35 million has been spent so far on finding a solution that seems no closer now than it ever was. Technically, we are back to square one after 23 years.

The Taoiseach was in Galway last Friday for a number of engagements and he heard about the importance of the road for inward investment. I was at one such function where this was mentioned. The Taoiseach saw at first hand the chronic traffic the people of Galway city and county deal with on a daily basis. Why does it take so long for these major infrastructural projects to get through the planning process?

An Bord Pleanála has serious questions to answer about why, as it publicly stated, it did not consider the new climate action plan that was passed before this decision was made. The people of Galway will now have to endure chronic traffic congestion for many years to come while we try to find a solution to the traffic situation in Galway. After 23 years and with €35 million spent, what comfort can the Taoiseach give to the people of Galway that this never-ending saga will be brought to an end?

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