Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I mentioned the planning issues not as an excuse for Government delay but to give the reality for the Deputy's constituents. While some of these sites are pretty much ready to go, the reality as you know is that it will take a period to go through the planning system. I have a certain frustration as Minister for Transport about critical projects such as the cross-city bus service in Galway, which went into planning over a year ago. Our planning process needs to be quicker. I am supportive of what the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage is doing in updating and modernising the planning legislation. We need to do this to ensure we get quicker decisions and solutions to those problems. We are committed to Galway.

As soon as we get those sort of projects through the planning system, they will be given top priority. The Deputy's point is a valid one. Galway has the worst transport problem with significant difficulties of congestion. We need to start providing the solutions. Park and ride is one. BusConnects and, indeed, on the basis of the success of that, the upgrading to Luas for Galway is the right way forward.

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