Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Galway city traffic has been an issue for as long as I can remember and it does reputational damage to the City, nationally and internationally. When a person mentions they are from Galway, it is often the butt of a joke. As Galwegians, we know when traffic will be worse and we always factor that into our daily commute. While reputational damage is frustrating, what is really frustrating for those people is the real-life impact on their lives as a result of the traffic. For a person living on one side of the city and working on the other, the lack of public transport options, particularly the lack of direct links across the city, is truly shocking.

Other elected representatives and I have long been calling for more frequent bus services, particularly at peak times, affordable fares and a modern and more efficient approach to ticketing. Four weeks ago, I talked in this Chamber about university students living in Connemara because of the lack of affordable or, indeed, any accommodation in Galway city, who are missing morning lectures as there is no bus that will get them in on time. We do not have a suitable and effective public transport system in Galway.

I have heard reports from the east and west of the county, as well as from the city, of people being left on the side of the road because buses were full. Another issue we have is that those bus stops are often not suitable or sufficient for modern-day Ireland. We know it will rain and we know people will be waiting at bus stops, but we do not have proper protection for them.

People in Galway see announcement after announcement about new night services on bus routes in Galway, while we are still waiting for a single night bus in Galway. This is despite the fact there is a proper campaign seeking night services in Galway. The aforementioned students, who rely on public transport to go out in the evening, would benefit from such a service. People who are no longer able to live within Galway city limits, because they cannot afford it and have moved outside the city bounds, would benefit from a night service, as well as the many people who work night shifts across the city and county.

I have seen two recently proposed housing estates in Galway city being denied planning permission because the location of the site is deemed to be too car-dependent. This raises the question why there are places in Galway city that do not have access to public transport in 2022.

A 90-minute fare can be bought in Dublin so that if a person needs to transfer, he or she is not required to pay a full fare twice. Many commuters in Galway need to get from one side of the city to the other for work. It is impossible do this by bus without getting a transfer, which leaves them paying two full fares per journey if they choose to commute by public transport. Compounding this issue is the fact that on the west side of the city, people are reliant on a privatised bus service. If residents wish to use public transport, they have no other option but to use the private service. This presents a problem if we want to bring in a 90-minute fare for Galway. As it stands, people in Knocknacarra would have to pay a higher fare to get a private bus to the city centre and then pay a full fare on a public bus to reach their destination on the east side of the city, and this is completely inadequate. The people of Galway deserve so much more in terms of bus services.

While bus services are extremely important, especially for people within the city bounds and those coming from rural and isolated areas, they are not the only tool needed to improve public transport in Galway and across the west. We have to prioritise reopening the western rail corridor and provide rail links for communities along the west coast. We in Galway have been waiting for a feasibility study to be carried out. My great granddad worked on that rail corridor, so my extended family are acutely aware of the role is has had and could have. Opening the western rail service would no doubt enhance the travel options for people across the west, as well as allowing more people to live in the more rural and isolated areas, so that there is not an intense, continuous pressure on our cities such as Galway city.

We have also seen that a decision on the ring road has once again been delayed. This has been going on for several years. At this stage, many people feel completely frustrated by the lack of progress. The most frustrating thing is that often all else is left in anticipation of a decision on this road. Without it being progressed, little else is happening. I ask the Minister of State to take on board my suggestions.

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