Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach is welcome to the Chamber. I have always admired him as a politician, particularly for his courageous stance on bringing in the smoking ban, which involved taking on a powerful lobby group. It was a significant success and has been emulated across Europe.

I acknowledge the difficult decisions the Government continues to face in respect of Covid, particularly coming up to this special time of the year, which is very much celebrated in Ireland with returning loved ones over the Christmas period. Of course, travel is easier this year. We know the impact of the meaningful Christmas last year, albeit with an unvaccinated population, with high numbers of cases and deaths in January and February. The Government has not been found wanting in providing supports to the sectors of society that have needed it in the past 18 months or more. Of course, the success of the vaccination roll-out and the booster programme will continue to provide hope that we can get through this pandemic.

I will be very parochial. As the Taoiseach is aware, the Galway city ring road has been with An Bord Pleanála for some time and a decision is due tomorrow. The decision has been postponed on numerous occasions and it is to be hoped that it will not be postponed again. I often hear it said that Galway has fallen behind places such as Limerick and Cork, with the Jack Lynch tunnel and the new tunnel in Limerick. Galway has not seen a similar level of investment because it has been stymied in planning for decades. I hope the Government will not be found wanting in terms of providing commitment to that very important project. It is supported by the county and city councils in their transport strategies and it is an integral part of transport links identified by the councils to free up space for improved and necessary public transport within the city.

The planning process for all projects is slow and tedious. The right to object or make a submission is an important right, but it seems to me that objecting is now a business, and a lucrative one. The losers are the State and communities. I welcome the decision by the Government to look at the planning process in its totality and to update and streamline it. That is urgent business that needs to be pursued and I welcome the decision of the Government to do so.

In December 2015, the Taoiseach quite rightly asked the then Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, about the emergency department of Galway University Hospital on a visit. The then Taoiseach responded that the emergency department was not fit for purpose. It was not for purpose then and it still not fit for purpose now. Despite commitments in the national development plan, a planning application has still not been lodged for the emergency department by the Saolta University Health Care Group. The project spec has changed and it now includes maternity and paediatric floors, but the planning application has not been lodged. The hospital group has proceeded with a temporary emergency department and decanting but no application has been lodged despite promising the then Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, more than three years ago that it would be lodged before Christmas 2018.

The local property tax is a very important source of funding for local authorities. I am sure the Taoiseach has heard from his colleagues, and I wish to put it on the record on behalf of my colleagues in Galway, that Galway County Council is in dire straits at the moment in the context of funding and that there needs to be direct intervention by the Government. I am sure there are other local authorities experiencing funding issues, but it has been acknowledged in respect of Galway, including by officials of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, that the funding model is broken. They cannot explain the funding model because it is so old, but it is evident that there have been decades of underfunding in Galway County Council. I ask for direct intervention to ensure funding is provided. All municipal districts this year have rejected their budgets. Although they do not have a statutory role, that is indicative of the concerns among all councillors in the region.