99. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Transport for a status update on the development of the Galway metropolitan area transport strategy; the timeline for the completion of the strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51768/25]

Sentiment score: 0.01

119. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Transport further to Question No. 137 of 24 June 2025, the progress to date on the roll-out of light rail for Galway, following the publication of the feasibility study on 30 October 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51778/25]

Sentiment score: 0.04

I am not sure whether the Minister or Minister of State will answer this question. Galway is a beautiful city. Is cathair dhátheangach í ar thairseach na Gaeltachta is mó sa tír ach is fadhb ollmhór é an tranglam tráchta. Baineann mo cheist leis na réitigh. I am asking for a status update on the development of the Galway metropolitan area transport strategy, which has been in place since 2016. It was dated then and we are still waiting for the review. Will the Minister also give an update on the progress to date of the roll-out of light rail? It has been almost a year since the report was published on the feasibility of light rail for Galway.

Sentiment score: 0.10

I thank the Minister for the comprehensive answer. Unfortunately, there is no park-and-ride facility in Galway even though it went into the plan 20 years ago on 1 February 2005. It has simply never been rolled out. On a feasibility study for light rail, we collected 24,000 signatures. I forget which year it was, it is so long ago now, but it was 2017 or 2018. It took until last year to get the feasibility study - I want to thank the previous Minister for that - but now the Minister is telling me nothing will happen in that regard except we are going to wait for the plan that cannot be done until we get a decision from An Bord Pleanála. It is since 1999, when I became a councillor, that I have been listening about an outer bypass. I have my own views about that and have taken a decision in relation to that but I have always put forward other solutions. It was 1999 when I was elected. It is now 2025 and there is not a sign of the outer bypass. Of increased transport demand, the study by the Department of Transport tells us: ... will eventually result in the bypass becoming congested without further intervention. While traffic flows will become lighter [… it] will remain a challenge … while the overall level of congestion in the city will rise given the higher volume ... That is the Department of Transport study telling us that even with another road, we are going to be in trouble. Transformative action is needed. That is what we need since declaring a climate emergency. We are not getting transformative action. What we are getting is delays. An Bord Pleanála failed to look at the climate legislation. That is why its decision was quashed by agreement. It failed to look at the climate plan and it had to go back to basics, which is where the matter is now. I have great concerns that when it looks at the climate implications, there will be serious problems. We need a plan that is sustainable. One of the simplest ways of that part is to roll out light rail on the western side of the city.

Sentiment score: -0.02

I think it is a false argument about the need for an outer bypass or not. This is about sustainable solutions and transformative action. Let us go back to why the An Bord Pleanála decision was quashed. There was an agreement to quash the decision because it had failed to consider the climate action plan. Imagine that it had failed to do that. What I am trying to get at here is because we put all our eggs in one basket, regardless of one’s view, let An Coimisiún Pleanála make its decision and let that go into operation one way or another. My difficulty is that this beautiful city has failed to roll out park-and-ride facilities 20 solid years after we put them in the development plan. We have failed to maximise school transport to lift the traffic off the road. We have failed to act on a feasibility study. It took us too long to do the feasibility study and now the Minister is telling me the feasibility study has gone into the future depending on a decision by An Coimisiún Pleanála. I do not think that is a transformative action. I think that is the same old thinking. I understand the Minister’s dilemma and what he is saying but that same dilemma has been put forward for 25 solid years where we are told we have to wait for the road. In the meantime, we let the traffic build up out of all proportion. The Department’s own report is telling us that it will be choked with traffic in the future again. A wise government would ask what transformative action is and how to lift the traffic off the road. The An Coimisiún Pleanála process could go on for years more. This issue has been ongoing since I became a councillor in 1999. The practical solutions have never been taken. I am asking the Minister how he can stand over a city that has failed to roll out the most basic solution to traffic congestion - park and ride - on the western side of the city and progress light rail?

Sentiment score: -0.06

The question was about park and ride.

Sentiment score: 0.00