The fourth question comes from the Regional Group. I call Deputy Grealish.

I was elected to Galway County Council in June 1999. One of the first items on the agenda at my first meeting was the proposed Galway city outer bypass. The initial plan for the bypass was published in October 1999, with a projected cost of £103.8 million or approximately €130 million. The intended route of the bypass would have entailed the demolition of eight houses. The following years saw major legal challenges in respect of the project. Despite An Bord Pleanála part-approving the project, the matter ended up going to the European Court of Justice. After that court’s ruling in April 2013, it was officially abandoned. The projected cost when the project was finally abandoned was approximately €444 million, which was nearly three and a half times the original estimate.

In late 2013, the consultant firm Arup was appointed to design what is now called the N6 Galway city ring road. In 2015, the emerging preferred route was published. It consists of 12 km of dual carriageway, 6 km of single carriageway, a bridge over the River Corrib, a viaduct and two tunnels, one of which will run under part of Galway racecourse. The impact of this new proposed road on families, businesses and farmers will be significantly greater than would have been the case with the original route. It will involve the demolition of 44 family homes, with ten more to be acquired. Several industrial and commercial properties are also to be acquired or demolished. More than 320 non-agricultural properties will be subject to partial land acquisitions, including parts of gardens and driveways, but mostly roadside strips outside boundary walls. Overall, 219 hectares of farmland from 195 land parcels will be acquired.

The proposed cost of this project has increased to approximately €650 million. I firmly believe that the cost of this project, if it gets the go-ahead, will be in excess of €1 billion. More than €35 million has been spent on this project since 1999, €14.7 million on the initial Galway city outer bypass and approximately €20 million on the current project. As already stated, Arup was appointed in 2013. The current proposal emerged in 2015 and was submitted to An Bord Pleanála in October 2018, almost three years ago. The oral hearing in respect of this road project took place in 2020 and the decision on it was deferred from April to 25 June. However, this date is not written in stone. We are 22 years into this project, with millions spent and still no road. Is the Government 100% committed to providing the funding for this project if it gets the go-ahead from An Bord Pleanála?

Deputy Grealish has a good, clear understanding of the history of transport in Galway. I remember that an engineer looked at the city in the late 1990s and stated that there would be a real problem there unless we changed our ways, because the emphasis on building road networks and roundabouts was going to cause gridlock. That is what that person argued at the time, and it subsequently turned out to be true. Galway city's transport system is not working. I would argue that it is the city in this country which is the least functional in transport terms. It needs radical change and a range of different solutions.

The Deputy is also correct with regard to looking at the history of this situation and, returning to earlier discussions, how long it takes for us to build anything.

The Galway road to which the Deputy referred is as good an example as any.

We must await the publication of the findings from the An Bord Pleanála hearing. My understanding is that the board may issue its decision towards the end of June. It could be later, in the order of these things. We will have to await that decision. Even then, as with any large transport project, there will be a series of further decision points before it actually gets the go-ahead. It is still necessary to go through the Government public procurement process for assessing projects. That includes a business case being presented and a tendering stage when the actual cost is determined.

I agree with the Deputy that the actual final cost of the project is likely to be much higher than anything that has been speculated to date. Looking at the cost of other road projects that are being commissioned at this time, the costs tend to be significantly higher than what was originally estimated. Transport Infrastructure Ireland is trying to avoid that eventuality by setting pricing estimates that take into account all eventualities. However, we are still likely to see a higher cost in this area.

The issue of the householders on the proposed route is a critical one. The Deputy has spoken to me on several different occasions in respect of the difficult situation in which they find themselves. He is right. They are unable to sell their houses and do not know what is happening. I am afraid they will have to await the publication of the findings of the An Bord Pleanála hearing. An Bord Pleanála might set conditions that change the route or aspects of the project, which might change their circumstances. Those people have been caught up in this process for a long time. The decision cannot come quickly enough for them.

I have agreed with Government colleagues that we must look at a whole range of different transport projects in Galway and not just focus on one project, as if one project alone can solve the problems. Huge investment in active travel is needed immediately in Galway to address the problems that exist in the city. BusConnects for Galway needs to be built out. That work has started. The development of the routes through sensitive areas, such as across the Salmon Weir Bridge and Eyre Square, is now in progress. It is vital that these projects proceed. No matter what we do on the road, we are going to need that infrastructure. The rail line from Athenry to Ceannt Station will need to be upgraded. The Deputy will have heard me speak about the benefit that development will bring, not just for Athenry but for Oranmore, Ardrahan and new areas in the city which need to be developed. The road project can only be considered in that wider context. That is how it was included in the Galway metropolitan strategy. That is what I follow as our guide in terms of any future Government decisions that are made.

As I stated, 54 homeowners are about to lose their homes and many more landowners and farmers are directly affected by this project. The homeowners find themselves stuck in limbo, whereby they cannot sell their houses or downsize because nobody will buy them. They cannot build new houses because technically, they still have a home. They do not want to spend any significant money renovating or refurbishing because they do not know how much longer they will be living there. They could be stuck in this limbo for years, just as the eight homeowners on the original route were before the project was finally abandoned, 14 years after it was originally proposed.

These homeowners deserve certainty and clarity. Will the Government come up with a plan to buy these houses without delay if An Bord Pleanála gives the project the go-ahead and regardless of any legal or judicial challenges that might be taken, which could last several years? I ask the Minister to give some hope to these homeowners if An Bord Pleanála does grant permission for this project. I urge him not to leave these homeowners hanging for years as the process is ongoing.

I understand that Galway County Council has already set up and advanced the negotiation strategy for the road project. All affected householders are invited to participate. Subject to the decision for approval, I encourage Galway County Council - and we will do everything we can in this regard - to assist those householders who have been affected.

I wish to make one final point. Going back to my earlier statements, I do not wish to be critical of Galway. However, we must think about the special beauty of the city. I recall attending a conference in the National University of Ireland, Galway in recent years, at which we looked at the planning and transport systems in Galway. Someone made the point that if only we could go back to that period in 1999, we could build more of Galway in Galway. In other words, the city has unique characteristics. It is located beside its own bay, with good urban features and streets that are attractive to walk on. We need to build more of those features in Galway. We need to develop features that make Galway a spectacular place to live. Galway could be a 15-minute city in which all services are within walking and cycling distance.

Those 54 householders deserve that, and they have to get out of their difficult circumstances. However, every household in Galway deserves us looking at how we can create a planning framework that makes Galway special and, included in that, solves the transport problems that beset the city.