The Minister of State is welcome. I thank the Cathaoirleach's office for choosing this Commencement matter. The Galway city ring road is a vital project, not just for Galway city but for Connemara and the region. It is something I have long spoken on. I have been a long-term supporter of not only the Galway city ring road but also its predecessor, the Galway city outer bypass.

It has had a long and chequered history in terms of commencements, judicial reviews and hearings in the High Court, the Supreme Court and different European courts, including the European Court of Auditors. There have been all sorts of issues over the years, going back for some 25 years.

The original bypass was a road-only project. It failed for a variety of reasons. Since then, Galway City Council and Galway County Council have adopted the Galway transportation strategy, of which the numerous projects, like BusConnects, have been vital parts. Central to the strategy as well has been the Galway city ring road. It has been accepted by many, certainly by me and those who support the ring road, that there is so much we can do in Galway city in terms of freeing up road space, but this is only possible if the Galway city ring road is built initially. It will allow for additional pedestrianisation and cycling and all that goes with those forms of transport. That is all very important, but it can only be done if we remove the traffic from Galway city that does not want to go through Galway city.

As part of the BusConnects roll-out, we saw planning permission granted last year for the cross-city link from University Road to the Dublin Road. In October this year, we saw An Coimisiún Pleanála grant planning permission for the BusConnects Galway-Dublin road project, which is a 3.9 km project running from the Moneenageisha Junction to the Doughiska Junction, adjacent to the Atlantic Technological University, Merlin Park Hospital and Bon Secours Hospital. All these are very positive in terms of the overall transportation strategy.

Tá sé tábhachtach go bhfuil cuarbhóthar na Gaillimhe i lár an aonaigh sa phlean náisiúnta don Roinn Iompair atá le foilsiú go luath. Tá an togra seo fós leis an gCoimisiún Pleanála chun cinneadh a dhéanamh. Tá súil agam go mbeidh toradh dearfach ar an iarratas pleanála don chuarbhóthar. Ansin beidh orainn fanacht ar an tréimhse dhlíthiúil do chás cúirte a thógáil a bheith thart. Tá sé tábhachtach nach mbeidh aon fhadhb ansin maidir le maoiniú don chuarbhóthar. Tá mé muiníneach nach mbeidh. Tá an bóthar seo lárnach sa straitéis iompair atá aontaithe ag an gcomhairle cathrach agus an chomhairle contae.

The review of the national development plan, NDP, in terms of each Department is due soon and it is absolutely vital that the Galway city ring road is at the heart of the transport strategy. It is absolutely vital that it is part of it. This was previously sanctioned at the Cabinet level during the Fine Gael-Independent coalition in 2018. At that stage, I think the cost was over €600 million. I suspect the cost now would be over €1 billion for this vital piece of infrastructure. It is absolutely vital that it is front and centre of the transport plan.

We know there is so much demand elsewhere, particularly in Dublin, in relation to infrastructure. It is absolutely vital for Galway city, however, because we have been left behind compared with Cork, Waterford and Limerick in terms of roads infrastructure. It is vital in terms of the day-to-day life of commuters in Galway, parents bringing children to crèche and those who live in Knocknacarra or Connemara and work in Parkmore or the industrial estates in the east of Galway city. It is vital for tourism in Connemara, for access, for accessibility and for bringing inward investment to Connemara and the west of Galway city. I look forward to the response from the Minister of State on behalf of the Department.

I thank Senator Kyne for tabling this important issue. The Minister for Transport has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding in relation to the national roads programme and he has asked me to take this matter on his behalf.

I start by saying thank you to the Senator for his strong advocacy on behalf of Galway and Connemara over several years. He read out a huge list of areas where progress is happening, projects that are being delivered and funding that has been in place. This is down to strong local advocacy, so I thank the Senator for that. As he will be aware, once funding arrangements have been put in place with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, under the Roads Acts 1993–2015, and in line with the national development plan, the planning, design, improvement and upgrade of individual national roads is a matter for TII in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. Ultimately, TII delivers the national roads programme in line with Project Ireland 2040 and the national planning framework as well as the NDP.

The Senator spoke about the review of the NDP and he is right that we had a very big review of it in July this year. We put additional funding behind a new and even more ambitious national development plan for our country. Part of that involves investing in our roads network and our transport and infrastructure networks.

Each line Minister has been given their capital funding allocation, and they are now putting together their priorities and their list. In the context of the national roads programme, the capital budget that is provided by the Department of Transport to TII is significant, and significant funding has been provided towards the development of the N6 Galway city ring road, which has been allocated €13.4 million since 2020, including €2.4 million this year alone. This is because it is a very important project. It acts as a gateway to Connemara and the western region, as the Senator pointed out, and that includes the large Gaeltacht areas.

The optimisation of transport connectivity within Galway city is critical to help the region chart a steady course for economic growth. Benefits that the project could bring include increased accessibility to the west, a reduction in traffic volumes on the existing city road network and safer journeys for all road users in the city centre. The Senator clearly outlined that in his contribution.

The Galway city ring road is a component of the Galway transport strategy. The Senator referred to the ring road as having a long and chequered history, and the Minister for Transport has provided me with the background to that. This scheme was submitted to An Bord Pleanála, which, of course, is now an coimisiún. It approved the scheme with conditions on 6 December 2021. Subsequently, there were three applications for judicial review submitted to the High Court, which imposed a stay on progressing the scheme. An Bord Pleanála subsequently took the decision not to oppose the judicial review taken by Friends of the Irish Environment against the decision to grant planning permission for the project. An Bord Pleanála stated that it took this decision on the grounds that the Government's most recent climate action plan was not taken into consideration before making the decision to grant permission. It was then for the High Court to decide whether to grant an order to quash the decision of the board. On 30 January 2023, the High Court quashed that decision to approve the scheme and remitted the application back before the board. An Coimisiún Pleanála will need to consider the application and make a new decision. I have recently requested further information from Galway City Council, including an updated environmental impact assessment report and a Natura impact statement.

Galway County Council submitted its response to this request by An Coimisiún Pleanála on 14 April. On 13 June, Galway County Council was informed that a further consultation would be required. A consultation period was held between 27 June and 1 August, and 28 submissions were received in response to that public consultation. As the Senator said, the next iteration of the NDP review means the Ministers now have to put their funding priorities in place and outline their plans for the coming years. The Minister for Transport is confident that Galway City Council and TII will continue to work together to advance the delivery of this really important road project in the Senator’s region.

I thank the Minister of State for that response from the Department of Transport, which provides a lot of information but, clearly, does not answer the question. I appreciate that. I am still confident that the Minister will look at this project seriously, and that it will be at the heart of the NDP review within the Department of Transport.

This response provides some of the history but, as I said, it goes back 25 years. The people of Galway city and Connemara probably raise their eyebrows when they hear about it because they say it will never happen, it is going nowhere, it is going to be stopped or there are going to be more court cases. Unfortunately, that is because of its history. There has been a long period in which people have had this uncertainty, particularly those who are going to lose their homes. I am not unaware of the issue that up to 45 people will lose their homes as part of this project. For them, there is a personal issue and a personal uncertainty in relation to their futures. However, this is a vital project for Galway city, Connemara and the region. It is vital that it is at the heart of the NDP review within the Department of Transport.

I thank the Senator for his understanding on this. I appreciate that the response does not answer the question of when it will start. As he outlined, it is a very complex project but it is something the Government is absolutely committed to. It is important to note that €10.5 million in Exchequer funding has been allocated this year alone for the national road network in Galway city and county. For example, Galway County Council received over €5 million for capital protection and renewal, over €3 million for new roads and almost €1 million for the protection and renewal of current roads. Galway City Council received €592,000 for capital protection and renewal and current protection and renewal.

There is a reason I outlined those statistics.

I really want the Senator and those living in his area to be aware that the funding is there and is being made available by Government. The reason it is being made available by Government is there is a huge willingness on the part of the Government to make sure we are investing in the Senator's region and in the transport network in his region as a clear priority. I again thank him for his advocacy on this and I will pass that on to the Minister for Transport.