Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I, too, welcome the decision of An Bord Pleanála yesterday on the Galway city ring road. It has been a long time in the offing, along with its predecessor, the Galway city outer bypass, on which considerable preparatory work has been done by engineers from the Arup Group, which have been tasked with this project, and all the county council officials, with the council being the lead agency on behalf of both Galway city and county. The ring road is pivotal. I made a submission to the oral hearing at the time. In August 2020, I wrote to An Bord Pleanála asking it to re-establish the oral hearing in order to conclude it, it having been suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Thankfully, it did that and the oral hearing was concluded towards the end of 2020. The ring road is vital to the long-term infrastructural needs of the city and county, for proper growth and development of the city and county, for access to Connemara and tourism, and to increase the potential of companies to set up and establish in Galway city . If CEOs of multinationals arrive into Dublin Airport, Shannon Airport or Ireland West Airport Knock, get to the outskirts of Galway city and then spend an hour travelling to the city before they get to parts of Connemara, how can we expect them to establish in the city? This is a momentous decision for Galway as the regional capital of the west. I hope the Government will pursue and conclude this project and bring it to construction. The previous Fine Gael-Independent Government agreed this at Cabinet in October 2018. Some €588 million was committed to it at that stage. I hope and expect this Government will not be found wanting in progressing this plan. The Tánaiste, who is a former Minister for Transport, is fully supportive of this project, as he has indicated to me on numerous occasions. I hope to see good progress on this vital project for the city and county.