Tá an deis á tapú agam anois córas iarnród éadrom do chathair na Gaillimhe a ardú. Tá an cheist seo thar a bheith tábhachtach. Is í an cheist i ndáiríre ná an bhfuil an dánacht agus an chrógacht san Aire ceannaireacht a thaispeáint agus glacadh leis an gcoincheap seo chun córas iarnród éadrom a sholáthar do chathair na Gaillimhe. I am seizing the opportunity today to raise this matter with the Minister as Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, although I would have dearly loved to have raised the issue of Gaza as well.

The decision to roll out a light rail system in Galway requires courage, vision and leadership. Does the Minister have the courage to embrace this project and roll out a light rail system for Galway as part of the solution to the chronic traffic congestion in the city? The provision of a light rail system perfectly aligns with the national policy objectives in the revised national planning framework. I refer to objectives 10 and 97 on the requirement for a transport-orientated development approach served by high-capacity public transport in the metropolitan areas of the five cities destined to grow, with Galway being one of them. Moreover, section 2.1 of the revised national planning framework clearly sets out that the four cities, including Galway, will require the potential of all four cities to be realised at an unprecedented rate to create viable alternatives to Dublin. We have any number of policies with which the provision of light rail complies but I will look at climate action and climate change where light rail will actively help to reduce our emissions.

Regarding the cost of not doing something, the Department of Transport very helpfully published a report titled "The Economic Cost of Congestion in the Regional Cities 2022-2040". It states that, at a minimum, on an annual basis, traffic congestion in Galway is costing €35 million. This figure will rise to an estimated €107 million and more in 2040. We are not talking about the cost of fines, lack of productivity, travelling and so on. That report clearly stated that we need a proactive deployment of sustainable transport for the growing traffic congestion in Galway. I am saying clearly on the record that a significant amount of work has been done on this project. A feasibility study has been published stating that it is eminently doable. Regarding light rail on the ground, I collected 24,000 signatures in 2018 begging the Government to do this.

I am familiar with the serious congestion in Galway city and the broader Galway region. As the Deputy knows, the National Transport Authority, NTA, has been developing the Galway metropolitan area transport strategy to inform what is possible for the future in the context of public transport but also road infrastructure in the Galway region, in conjunction with Galway City Council and Galway County Council. Part of the development of this metropolitan area transport strategy necessitated the mode-specific analysis being undertaken for a light rail feasibility study and the strategic roads feasibility study. The light rail feasibility study was published by the NTA on 30 October 2024. The backdrop is the ongoing consideration of the ring road, with which the Deputy is familiar.

I know the demand within Galway city for light rail. What we are doing in the NDP is prioritising transport infrastructure more generally. This will involve a serious uplift in investment in transport infrastructure over the next five years and the setting out of a longer term position to provide confidence in the development of public transport infrastructure in our cities, between our towns and within our regions. The metropolitan area transport strategy will help inform what is possible in the short to medium term. I know it is being progressed by the two relevant councils. I am open to that engagement as Minister.

Light rail in Dublin and other parts of the country has been of a stop-start nature. It is an effective way of delivering public transport in urban areas and we need to have a better pipeline of light rail over the longer term. The NTA and Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, need to work on that in terms of the respective metropolitan area transport strategies.

There is a lot of interest in the development of the ring road in Galway for its citizens and the people Deputy Connolly represents. There are also people in Galway who want to see light rail developed as an option in the urban sphere. Congestion is a serious issue. When I canvassed in Galway on many occasions last year, public transport and the ring road accounted for probably 50% of the issues raised on the door by the many people I engaged with. As a Government, with our prioritisation of transport infrastructure, we want to make real progress on some of the projects that can be started quickly but also to set out the longer term position on transport strategy and what can be delivered for Galway and the broader west of Ireland region over the coming period.

I welcome that the Government will prioritise transport in the revised plan. There is no sense of urgency when it comes to Galway city. Its growth has been hampered. It simply cannot develop. I do not have time to go into the lack of infrastructure when it comes to basic sewerage facilities. That is for another day and I have raised it before. I am sticking with just one issue today as one part of a sustainable solution. In 2018, 24,000 people signed a petition appealing to the Government to carry out a feasibility study. That took until last year. We cannot grow Galway. It is just a pretence and a mockery to say Galway can grow. It cannot. There is a lack of infrastructure. We then have obligations under our climate action plans. One of the easiest ways, the straightest way, to comply with those obligations is to roll out a public transport system with light rail and park-and-ride facilities. Park-and-ride was provided for in the city development plan in 2004, 21 years ago, and it still has not been rolled out. What we need from the Government is vision and boldness in the best sense of the word to give the thumbs up for light rail.

Deputy, you are well over time.

I will finish on this. The Government should put light rail in the revised national planning framework. There will be a presentation on light rail in the audiovisual room at 3 p.m. I invite everyone to attend.

I think we all share the objectives of significantly improving transport infrastructure for Galway city. The work that has been undertaken around the feasibility study for light rail is important in that context. The National Transport Authority is considering that with the two relevant councils. There has been significant investment in Ceannt Station, as the Deputy knows, to try to improve connectivity for commuters. In Oranmore and elsewhere, there has been investment and upgrades and significant work has been undertaken related to BusConnects in Galway.

I welcome the work that has been undertaken around the feasibility study for light rail in particular. As I said previously, we need to build more momentum to have more light rail in some of our urban areas compared with recent years where its development has been of a stop-start nature. It is an effective way of delivering public transport, as we have seen in Dublin. It will be considered in the context of the national development plan.