I cannot say that I did not have concerns about this Bill when I noted it on the summer legislative agenda. Perhaps it was a misunderstanding of its intention. As I had read it, my concept was that this was a further centralising of the decision-making process on transport policy by the NTA at the expense of local authority members. The Minister, Deputy O’Brien, has assured me that is not the intention of the change and that will not be its impact, which I welcome. However, I have to speak from a regional perspective. In Galway when we debate transport policy and transport infrastructure projects, I cannot help feeling at times that Galway is an afterthought for the NTA. Maybe people from other regional cities think similarly. Maybe people from Dublin think that too much of the NTA time focuses on the regional cities. I have often thought that it might be an idea to have two separate authorities, one transport authority for the greater Dublin region and one for the regional cities. I share some of the concerns that I have heard expressed by other Members, including Deputy Lahart before me. We only have this opportunity to get this right and we should use it to make sure that we do that. One of the things that is notable about the existing 2008 legislation creating the Dublin Transport Authority, subsequently the National Transport Authority, is that one of the members of the NTA board is the CEO of Dublin City Council. While that is probably appropriate, the same opportunity is not presented to the CEO of Cork City Council, Galway City Council or Limerick City and County Council. While that may not have any significant meaning, the inference could be that Dublin gets greater priority from the NTA than the regional cities. We should do everything we can to ensure that is not the case and that it is not even inferred by the operation of the NTA. I got some good news yesterday regarding transport planning in Galway, that the NTA has commenced the development of the Galway metropolitan area transport strategy. It is the only city that has not had its transport strategy reviewed since 2016. That decision was made based on the fact that a central part of the transport strategy, the Galway city ring road, had not been decided upon - the planning process had not been completed. That was completed last night and now we are moving on to develop a transport strategy in Galway with that as a focus or a central part of it. I think it will start with a review of the existing Galway transport strategy. Unfortunately, the reality is that review will show that much of what was planned in the 2016 strategy has been unfulfilled. Other than the redevelopment of Ceannt Station with the development of the five platforms there and a number of active travel measures across the city, we have not seen significant development of transport or public transport infrastructure in Galway city. I will provide an example of how frustrating this can be for members of a local authority when feel they have some input into the transport policy of the local authority. In October 2022, which is coming up on four years ago, when I was as a member of the local authority, I first received a presentation from the Galway park and ride strategy team. It was done via Zoom because the team was based in Dublin. It presented us with what the park and ride strategy for Galway city would be. It included the development of park and ride facilities on the N83, north of Claregalway; on the N6, which is the Galway-Dublin road; and at Oranmore train station. They were seen as the sites that would be prioritised. Four years later, however, we have yet to see land purchased for the facilities on the N83 or the N6. We are also yet to see the planning application being made to extend the car parking provision at Oranmore train station. It is deeply frustrating. We have since seen the policy changed somewhat, which I welcome. There is now a proposal to develop a park and ride facility on the western side of the city on the end of the Western Distributor Road. That is welcome. However, to highlight something Deputy Lahart spoke about, there is a lack of co-ordination with regard to the relationship between the NTA and the local authority, and even within the NTA itself. There is no bus priority measure from that park and ride site on the west of the city. The bus will leave the park and ride facility and join regular traffic. I cannot see the public accepting or using that. The most bizarre part of the story is that the NTA brought forward and completed a Part 8 planning process for active travel cycle lanes on that same road. It should and could have developed bus priority measures along the same road to ensure that the park and ride facility would be used by the public. I cannot understand how the Part 8 was brought forward for cycle lanes but not for bus priority. It is not that I oppose the cycles lanes - I welcome them - but, as Deputy Lahart said, there seems to be a lack of co-ordination between active travel and public transport within the NTA. There is one part of the city I must mention in the context of Galway’s bus strategy, namely, the Upper Ballymoneen Road. It needs a bus turning bay, which is a simple provision. I ask the Minister of State to look at that.

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