Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This week, Ballinasloe has seen its third win in the High Court. This is a win for the families and communities of Ballinasloe. Close to 3,000 families submitted objections to Galway County Council from 2018, even during the pandemic and the severe lockdown, to make their voices heard. Ballinasloe said no to hundreds of 10-tonne, 15-tonne and 30-tonne trucks being forced through the town centre, past residential areas and Portiuncula hospital, to access the site. We said no to air pollution from diesel-powered trucks for the second largest town in County Galway. We said no to the environmental impacts on the low-lying flood plains of the River Suck in Pollboy and on European protected conservation sites along the River Suck callows.

A group of volunteers set up Ballinasloe Says No to challenge the decision by Galway County Council to grant a permit to operate a waste transfer station in Ballinasloe. This week, the High Court quashed that decision. My involvement as a co-founder and public relations officer for the group set me on the path to becoming a Senator. The group has a strong committee that includes, as chair, Dr. Vincent Parsons, who is a consultant radiologist in Portiuncula hospital, and the residents' founder, Mr. Brian Dolan, and is supported by public representatives, including committee member and Galway county councillor, Dr. Evelyn Parsons. In 1999, a previous generation of families, which included my father, Mr. Tony Dolan, challenged the landfill and won their case in the High Court in 1999.

Ballinasloe Says No has successfully challenged the permits to operate the waste transfer station in 2018 and now in January 2022. I thank the incredible committee, the volunteers, the people of Ballinasloe, the clubs, schools and community groups, the business community and the public representatives who time and again have fought for the town. I thank the experts who gave in-depth reports on the impact to the region. I thank the people who joined our legal case. I thank our fantastic legal team, including Gearóid Geraghty and Company Solicitors; and our barristers, Stephen Dodd, Christopher Hughes and Michael O'Donnell. Ballinasloe is now going to be a stop on the multi-million euro Galway to Dublin cycleway project that will run through the same area of the Grand Canal, the River Suck callows and the unique boglands in Pollboy, which are full of biodiversity. It will be a treasure for years to come.