Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Faraor géar, tá orm díriú isteach ar chathair na Gaillimhe arís agus an easpa infreastruchtúir atá ag cur bac láidir ar thuilleadh forbartha. De bharr na stoirme, tá spotsolas ar an easpa infreastruchtúir. Tá sé seo ardaithe go mion minic ach faraor, tá orm é a ardú arís. I raise the lack of infrastructure in Galway that is a serious block to development. The city is one of five cities identified in the national plan to grow. It is one of the five cities destined to grow, to a population of 120,000 by 2040. That is not possible.

The results of the storm in Galway city and county, particularly in the county, show it was one of the worst hit. As I stand here today, 2,750 homes, businesses and farms are still without power in Galway. The Tánaiste has described it as an unprecedented storm - it was - but we were well warned about it and that was something I raised this morning. I will use my time now to look at how that has put the focus on the difficulties we have in Galway for further development.

At a presentation last week at which the Ministers were in attendance, 11 projects were highlighted but top of the list, not in the way it was laid out but verbally, was Galway city flood defences and the urgent need for them to be progressed. The plan for this started years ago at €9 million and it increased to €50 million. The Tánaiste's ministerial colleague beside him, Deputy Naughton, is very familiar with it. We were told in no uncertain terms that unless that project goes ahead there cannot be development in Galway.

On top of that, we have an inadequate wastewater treatment structure. The collection network has been described as inadequate. A recent engineer's report, commissioned by Uisce Éireann, said one of the siphons under the Corrib Estuary was in imminent danger of collapse. We have an inadequate collection network; we have failure to build a wastewater treatment plant on the east side of the city; we have no wastewater treatment plant in Carraroe; and then, in Clifden, we have a treatment plant that is not up to the capacity in the summertime.

The Taoiseach is aware of this and I am aware of it but unfortunately there has been no progress. The city and county councils in Galway tell us they are two of the worst funded local authorities in the country. These are major projects. We have a national development plan and a framework telling us that Galway is going to grow. What I am highlighting today is that there are sustainable solutions to this. It breaks my heart to watch what is happening in Galway in terms of traffic congestion and bad planning.

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