I very much welcome the approval by An Bord Pleanála yesterday for the Galway city outer ring road. This has been long promised for Galway, going back decades at this stage. It is frightening that every other city, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Dublin and smaller areas and towns have developed their road network, yet we have been left in the ha’penny place. Traffic is such an issue in Galway city that when representatives of American and European companies have come to invest in the city they have opted to establish their companies in Limerick or Cork, mainly due to the traffic congestion. That is a fact. The lack of a bypass has damaged the local economy significantly. As a public representative I would have no problem in promoting in public transport and cycling, but Galway city's population will increase to 130,000 by 2040. Our road network is incapable of handling the current volume of traffic not to mention when the population growth will be taken into account. That has been shown to be the case during the past 20 years. Galway’s current poor road infrastructure is a disservice to the people of the region, a major threat to the regional economy and it is a considerable risk to the future development of the capital of the west. The Deputy Leader will know the city. Not alone does it not serve Galway city, it does not serve the 40,000 people based in Connemara. The road is part of the programme for Government. I have discussed it with the Taoiseach on numerous occasions. I look forward to the Government advancing the project as soon as possible with urgency.

I, too, welcome the decision of An Bord Pleanála yesterday on the Galway city ring road. It has been a long time in the offing, along with its predecessor, the Galway city outer bypass, on which considerable preparatory work has been done by engineers from the Arup Group, which has been tasked with this project, and all the county council officials, with the council being the lead agency on behalf of both Galway city and county. The ring road is pivotal. I made a submission to the oral hearing at the time. In August 2020, I wrote to An Bord Pleanála asking it to re-establish the oral hearing in order to conclude it, it having been suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Thankfully, it did that and the oral hearing was concluded towards the end of 2020. The ring road is vital to the long-term infrastructural needs of the city and county, for proper growth and development of the city and county, for access to Connemara and tourism, and to increase the potential of companies to set up and establish in Galway city . If CEOs of multinationals arrive into Dublin Airport, Shannon Airport or Ireland West Airport Knock, get to the outskirts of Galway city and then spend an hour travelling to the city before they get to parts of Connemara, how can we expect them to establish in the city? This is a momentous decision for Galway as the regional capital of the west. I hope the Government will pursue and conclude this project and bring it to construction. The previous Fine Gael-Independent Government agreed this at Cabinet in October 2018. Some €588 million was committed to it at that stage. I hope and expect this Government will not be found wanting in progressing this plan. The Tánaiste, who is a former Minister for Transport, is fully supportive of this project, as he has indicated to me on numerous occasions. I hope to see good progress on this vital project for the city and county.