John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle as ucht m’ábhar a roghnú le haghaidh an mhír seo ar an gclár. Mo bhuíochas freisin leis an Aire Stáit as a bheith linn chun an t-ábhar a phlé. As the Chair noted, I bring to the fore a number of issues that arise from a report published last week by the Department of Transport called The Economic Cost of Congestion in Regional Cities 2022-2040. I understand this follows a similar study that was done for the greater Dublin area last year. Some issues arise from the report that I feel warrant further reflection on future national transport policy, but I will confine much of my comment to the report as it refers to Galway. I first want to dispel an inference put forth by some since the publication of the report that it claims Galway will not benefit from the development of the proposed ring road. I want to dispel that because the report clearly says differently. Galway city ring road is currently undergoing its second assessment by An Bord Pleanála. The first assessment was accepted by An Bord Pleanála. It charged that the regulatory obligations had not been adhered to in the assessment process, which is regrettable, despite it approving the planning for the road. The Galway road project office has since furnished An Bord Pleanála with thorough further information as part of the current assessment process. I hope An Bord Pleanála will undertake the assessment carefully and prudently, but quickly. It is important for the city and the region that we get a quick decision on this. I am hopeful we will get a positive decision.

Outside of that this report highlights that the cost of congestion in Galway will reach a peak in 2030 but will fall marginally towards 2040. It will fall due to the assumption in the report that the Galway city ring road will be operational after 2030. It must also be borne in mind that the report assumes the increasing population and economic activity the city will experience in accordance with the national planning framework towards 2040. Part of what the report is saying is that the growth expected in Galway city is one of the reasons we will experience future costs associated with congestion, but the development of the ring road will alleviate that marginally. Unfortunately, and this will not be news to anybody with knowledge of Galway and its transport strategy, the ring road alone will not be sufficient to offset the increase in congestion. Further interventions are required. That is the crucial part. It would be horrific for Galway commuters to hear that not alone are our current plans not going to alleviate the traffic congestion in the city, but the traffic problems could get worse because we have an insufficiency in the interventions we are proposing. I raised the issue last week with the Tánaiste that the NTA advised me it had paused development of a new transport strategy for Galway. Since that the NTA has provided me with updated information that it is still progressing many of the projects included in the Galway transport strategy from 2016. Again, this report highlights that those interventions will not be sufficient to alleviate the traffic congestion that Galway suffers. If we cannot or do not increase the level of intervention and invest further, we will see traffic concerns in Galway unfortunately getting worse. Such interventions are not rocket science. Some of them are already alluded to in many national and local reports, such as the doubling of the rail track to Athenry, developing the western rail corridor between Tuam and Athenry, implementing the new bus network for the city at the earliest opportunity, bringing the park and ride and bus priority measures to fruition in the shortest possible timeframe and progressing a route option study for light rail in the city. A report last October highlighted that light rail is feasible for Galway, but we need to progress that to a route options assessment.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta os rud é gur chuir sé an t-ábhar tábhachtach seo os comhair na Dála. Tá mise ag tógaint an ábhair seo thar ceann an Aire Iompair. I am aware of the Department’s recent report, The Economic Cost of Congestion in the Regional Cities 2022-2040, and the results pertaining to Galway. The report builds on an earlier study about Dublin published in 2023, which the Deputy mentioned. The same methodology was applied to Cork, Waterford and Galway, providing consistent and monetised examples of the costs of congestion across these cities.

The cost of congestion is calculated on the basis of lost productive time due to increased travel times. In Galway, the cost of congestion is projected to rise to €106.9 million by 2040. On a per capitabasis, this equates to €806 - second only to Dublin, which is projected at €1,047 per capitain 2040. These figures show the significant economic impact of congestion on residents and businesses in Galway. Those of us who have the privilege to visit Galway are only too well aware of the congestion, so we can empathise and sympathise.

The report indicates that Galway’s congestion costs will be notably higher than those in other regional cities. This reflects the growing demand on the transport network in the city as it assumes that Galway’s population and economy will continue to grow significantly over coming years. The pressure on transport infrastructure will then increase unless we take proactive measures.

While congestion is an inevitable consequence of economic and population growth, the results show how these costs will be distributed across different groups. The majority of costs are experienced by personal vehicles. However, the proportion attributed to goods vehicles is expected to increase by 2040. Galway shows a different pattern in the timing of congestion. Unlike other cities, which experience peak delays in the morning and evening, Galway’s congestion costs are distributed relatively evenly throughout the day. This is likely due to the employment patterns and travel behaviours in Galway, including tourists.

The report advises that infrastructure provision will mitigate congestion costs, but the mitigation could be temporary. In transport planning, it is well understood that increased supply will be met with increased demand, known as induced demand. The modelling incorporates projects outlined in the Galway transport strategy published in 2016. The Deputy mentioned some of them. The report further concludes that the planned infrastructure developments will reduce the cost of congestion compared to a scenario where they are not delivered, that is, the congestion projections would be far worse without the planned infrastructure investments. Notably, there is a slight decrease of approximately €500,000 in congestion costs in Galway between 2030 and 2040. This would indicate that the infrastructure delivered during this period will successfully reduce the rate of growth in congestion levels. The report makes clear that investment in public transport, promoting compact and mixed-purpose urban development and encouraging a shift toward sustainable modes of travel should be continued. To address congestion more broadly, support should be directed not only towards infrastructure alone but also toward behavioural changes through public awareness campaigns and incentives that make sustainable transport more attractive and accessible.

John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as ucht an fhreagra. I will focus on the last paragraph of the Minister of State's response. He is correct to say we need more than enhanced infrastructure. I am glad, though, that his response also recognises the enhanced infrastructure, which will predominantly be the ring road, will alleviate some congestion and the report notes that. The last paragraph is interesting because it makes the point we need greater public transport and we need people to use public transport more.

One of the reasons I said I think this document requires further debate is it highlights one startling statistic. That is that only 4% of the population in the regional cities use public transport as their preferred mode of transport, whereas in the greater Dublin area that is 20%. Proportionately, five times as many people in Dublin use public transport as in the regional cities. That is because of its availability. The options to use public transport in Dublin are much greater than in the regional cities. I would welcome any and all interventions that will enhance public transport provision in Galway, give us better public transport infrastructure and give commuters a greater option to use public transport.

There is one thing I fear and I asked the Minister for Transport about it recently. The report published last week says the data on public transport usage I have just quoted reflects the insufficient scale and coverage of the public transport network, as well as poor frequency and accessibility in regional cities. People cannot use what they do not have. We need the ring road in Galway; we also need to complement it with enhanced public transport. Unfortunately, the evidence I have seen suggests the NTA is focused on the greater Dublin area. We need the NTA to expand its focus more to the regional cities. I understand the Minister for Transport has some measures in that area and I hope he brings them forward soon.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Deputy for bringing the focus to Galway and congestion and for being a strong voice for the city, for the wider constituency of Galway West and for Connemara. It is good he has raised the report in the Dáil because it outlines what congestion costs every man, woman and child in Galway. Galway citizens are likely to experience a much higher cost per capita than citizens of other regional cities.

The ring road has been delayed by court proceedings and planning issues and the Galway transport strategy has not been updated since 2016 because of the lack of clarity here. The modelling in this report is based on the transport strategy and includes the ring road. It is not possible to tease out the specific savings the ring road would be responsible for but it is one of the more significant projects included in the model. That is obvious but I am glad the Government and the Government report are saying that because that is the type of advocacy the Deputy has been making to all of us and all his colleagues. It can be reasonably asserted that the ring road would contribute to the lower congestion cost in the period after it is delivered. I agree that is important. There is a wide range of measures relating to public transport that will reduce the cost financially for the Deputy's constituents and make Galway as good a place as we all know it can be. It is a beautiful and important city.