Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I very much welcome the approval by An Bord Pleanála yesterday for the Galway city outer ring road. This has been long promised for Galway, going back decades at this stage. It is frightening that every other city, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Dublin and smaller areas and towns have developed their road network, yet we have been left in the ha’penny place. Traffic is such an issue in Galway city that when representatives of American and European companies have come to invest in the city they have opted to establish their companies in Limerick or Cork, mainly due to the traffic congestion. That is a fact. The lack of a bypass has damaged the local economy significantly. As a public representative I would have no problem in promoting in public transport and cycling, but Galway city's population will increase to 130,000 by 2040. Our road network is incapable of handling the current volume of traffic not to mention when the population growth will be taken into account. That has shown to be the case during the past 20 years. Galway’s current poor road infrastructure is a disservice to the people of the region, a major threat to the regional economy and it is a considerable risk to the future development of the capital of the west, as the Deputy Leader will know the city. Not alone does it not serve Galway city it does not serve the 40,000 people based in Connemara. The road is part of the programme for Government. I have discussed it with the Taoiseach on numerous occasions. I look forward to the Government advancing the project as soon as possible with urgency.