Brian Walsh (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this item and the Minister for attending to hear my contribution. I have been a public representative for ten years and since my time on Galway City Council I have been an ardent advocate of the need for an outer bypass in Galway. The Minister recently visited our city and saw the traffic gridlock we Galwegians experience on a daily basis. Journeys that should take 15 minutes, such as travelling from the east to the west of the city and on to Connemara, take an hour and a half or two hours. The Minister’s predecessor, Deputy Varadkar, carried out an assessment of all the roads infrastructure projects proposed and the Galway city outer bypass was ranked as the top road project in terms of cost-benefit ratio. The need for a city outer bypass is well established and I support it.

Planning permission was granted for the original part of a route and an appellant brought it to the High Court and the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court referred it to the European Court of Justice, ECJ, because the appellant argued that it compromised the integrity of an SAC. After receiving the ECJ’s response, the Supreme Court refused permission. Like so many, I awaited the publication of the new proposed route with great hope that it would, finally, address traffic gridlock in our city and lift constraints that are hampering business and economic development in our city and the quality of life of its residents. However, the routes chosen and put before the public are complete and utter madness. They are not feasible alternatives to the original plan for an outer bypass, for a number of legitimate reasons.

The first reason is the cost. The original budget, prepared at the height of the economic boom, was approximately €320 million. The new proposal will cost up to €750 million. It will result in the destruction of up to 130 homes in the city, family homes, some of which are among the most valuable properties in the city, hence the increased cost. It will cause the destruction of a number of businesses in the city and will have a very negative impact on some institutions in the city such as NUI Galway as new buildings recently developed there would have to be demolished. Most significantly, it will have a very negative impact on the world famous Galway racing festival. It is an area in which the Minister has an interest, with his tourism hat on. The Galway Races are the jewel in the crown of the Galway tourism product and digging up the racecourse, as required under these plans, would be akin to draining the canals of Venice or boarding up the Colosseum in Rome for a week during the peak tourism season. The plans for this project were supposed to enhance Galway's economic growth, not cripple it. The Galway Races are worth more than €60 million per year to the local economy and these plans would have a detrimental effect on it.

The refusal of permission for the original route was due to the presence of bog cotton and the impact the road would have on a small area of limestone paving. While we all have great respect and affection for our environmental heritage, I have a problem with the prioritisation of bog cotton or limestone paving over people's lives. We must put people before plants and paving. The elephant in the room is that the new routes also go through ecological sites of international importance. If we pursue this course of action, there is no doubt that it will come before the courts again. The plan must be halted and I ask the Minister to use his offices to review the proposals before the public for their consideration and come back with something that will deliver the much needed infrastructure sooner and at a fraction of the cost envisaged.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Walsh for the opportunity to address this issue. I acknowledge the Deputy's concern and interest in the matter. Since the latest development of the project, Deputy Walsh has raised the project with me and articulated his concerns about it and I am glad to have the opportunity to publicly respond. I have responsibility for overall policy on and funding of the national roads programme. The construction, improvement and maintenance of individual national roads is a matter for the National Roads Authority, NRA, in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. Within its capital budget, the assessment and prioritisation of individual national road projects is a matter for the NRA in accordance with section 19 of the Roads Act.

I am aware that Galway County Council, on its own behalf and on behalf of Galway City Council, is focused on addressing existing transportation issues in Galway city and surrounding areas. As part of this process I understand that the council initiated a public consultation to inform the public of the transportation options which have been developed to address the problems identified, the constraints identified to date, the implications of the EU Habitats Directive and the project programme. These options cover public transport, smarter travel and road elements.

As indicated in the public consultation documents, the position of Galway city, between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, together with the presence of designated sites, presents significant constraints for developing new infrastructure and the council has, therefore, focused on considering all alternatives in order to minimise the impact on designated sites. The stated objective of this phase of the council's work is to identify a suitable study area for the examination of alternative routes and transportation solutions, to identify key constraints within this study area, to develop feasible route options and transportation solutions and to carry out a systematic assessment of these options leading to the selection of a preferred route corridor or transportation solution, which will form the basis for the detailed design. Road options to connect the R336 on the west of the city to the existing N6 on the east have been identified in respect of the possible road component of the transport solution. Six such options have been included in the public consultation process and the Council has indicated that these are draft options and subject to change in light of more detailed assessments. In this context I understand that the purpose of the recent second consultation is threefold: first, to update the public on the work to date, second, to obtain input from the public on any additional significant constraints and third, to offer the public an opportunity to propose further alternative options, which had not previously been considered.

The design team will examine the feasibility of such options and determine whether they merit inclusion in the final appraisal of options. I have also been informed that the design team is currently engaged in individual meetings with directly affected landowners and the general public to provide more detail on the various options under consideration. Submissions in respect of the route options can be submitted to the project office until the end of February 2015. The information received will be collated by the design team and used in the assessment of the route options. I understand the assessment process is due to be completed by the end of March 2015 and an emerging preferred route option will be identified. This emerging route corridor will be subsequently put on public display.

Brian Walsh (Galway West, Independent)
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The new routes before the public for consultation also compromise the integrity of ecological sites of international importance. That is precisely why the Supreme Court refused the first plan, having considered the advice of the European Court of Justice. The new rules will end up before the courts again. We need a solution to the gridlock in the city and for the brakes to be put on this process. The study area should be extended and other options should be considered outside the study area that do not have such a negative impact on people’s lives and will result in something to be delivered sooner and at a fraction of the cost to the Exchequer.

We expected that the National Roads Authority and local authorities would consider a variation on the original route and that an application would be made under the little used structure - imperative reasons of overriding public interest, IROPI. It is clear that there is an imperative reason of overriding public interest here, a well-established traffic gridlock in the city. Unfortunately, those adjudicating on the new plans decided otherwise and have considered routes closer to the city that can deliver an option but at huge cost to the State.

The Minister has been very good to Galway in recent months but I shudder to think what his reaction might be when I approach him and ask for €0.75 billion to construct 16 km of a ring-road around Galway. Would he accept that the funding is available to do this? He must accept that this will end up again in the High Court, Supreme Court and before the European Court of Justice. We need to put a halt to this. I ask the Minister to use his offices to get the NRA and the local authorities around the table to examine alternative routes.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Walsh for the points he has made. I understand the concerns he has raised and acknowledge the huge progress being made by the Department in many areas in Galway. Whether in respect of transport or tourism, the Department has worked hard to support the good work under way in Galway city and County.

There is support for the objective described, to find a way to alleviate congestion that is growing increasingly severe. There is a process under way that allows for the public and other stakeholders to make submissions until the end of February in respect of route options. That process will afford the Deputy the opportunity to make an input if he believes that is appropriate. By raising this in the Dáil he is putting down a clear marker of his concerns about this matter and the negative effect he believes the project could have on the people he represents and the wider city and county.

This process is being led by the local authority. I have outlined my role, which is responsibility for all road policy in the country and working to deliver funding for projects prioritised by the NRA. I have to wait until the process in Galway city and county reaches a conclusion but I acknowledge the Deputy’s concerns about the matter and hope the process can be used to respond to matters of legitimate concern to many within the city and beyond.