Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

First, a correction. An Bord Pleanála did not say, "No" to the ring road; the High Court said, "No" to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations. That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.

In the conference I mentioned, the chief planner, who has huge experience in Freiburg, described Galway as being like a mouthful of broken teeth. He also said there was very little sign of urgency in regard to our obligations in respect of climate change with the way development was taking place in Galway. We have any amount of possibilities. Mar a dúirt mé i nGaeilge, is am na cinniúna é. It is the tipping point. It is time to make transformative decisions.

Sorting out the housing crisis by building public housing is a major part of the solution. Not a single unit of public housing was built in Galway in 2002. There is no master plan for the city. The docks are doing their own thing. Níl aon mhórphlean ann. Ceannt Station is doing its own thing. Sandy Road is doing its own thing. There is no overall planning to bring together a comprehensive and transformative plan to make Galway a green city. We have employment and beauty. We are choking it through a lack of direction from management, in particular from the Government which is not telling the city it has to comply with obligations under climate change.

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