Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 November 2023
6. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Transport further to Parliamentary Question No. 35 of 5 October 2023, the status of the roll out of park-and-ride in Galway city; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52832/23]
View answerTagraím do chóras páirceáil agus taistil i nGaillimh. Tá mé ag iarraidh soiléiriú a fháil ó thaobh aon dul chun cinn atá déanta, ag cur san áireamh gur chuir na comhairleoirí, mé féin san áireamh, é isteach mar chuspóir beagnach 20 bliain ó shin. I am looking for an update on the status of the roll-out of park and ride in Galway - east and west - bearing in mind that almost 20 years ago, the councillors did their job and put it in as one of the specific objectives in the development plan.
As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The NTA is leading the development and roll-out of strategic park-and-ride sites nationwide through the park-and-ride development office.
The NTA established the park-and-ride development office in February 2020, which had been included as an action in the climate action plan 2019. The function of the park-and-ride development office is to enable the delivery of park-and-ride sites by the NTA in collaboration with local authorities and transport operators such as larnród Éireann across the country. Through the park-and-ride development office, full-time specialist resources are now employed on such projects.
The park-and-ride development office has developed a park-and-ride strategy for Galway. That park-and-ride strategy envisages the development of up to five bus-based strategic park-and-ride sites, three for initial development and two for future development, and the expansion of rail-based park and ride at Oranmore station.
Work by the park-and-ride development office is ongoing in relation to proposed bus-based park-and-ride sites on the N6 at the junction 19 Oranmore exit and the N83 just north of Claregalway. Planning for enhanced rail infrastructure to facilitate the expansion of rail-based park and ride at Oranmore station is separately being undertaken by Iarnród Éireann in conjunction with the NTA. Work on the remaining proposed sites will commence at a future date as they are highly dependent upon the delivery of bus priority along the relevant connecting corridors. Overall I welcome these developments and look forward to the projects progressing as the provision of park and ride at strategic locations can help to reduce the distances travelled by car with a corresponding reduction in carbon emissions and congestion and improved road safety.
I thank the Minister for the clarification regarding the N6 junction 19 proposals, the N83 and the improvements for Oranmore and the railway station. I will return to where I started. Almost 20 years ago, we put a proposal that park and ride be rolled out on the east and west into the city development plan. Twenty years later, we are being told that there is work on the east side. There is absolutely nothing on the west side - the Connemara side - that is being put into the future long-term plans. I know the Minister shares my frustration on this. It is one of the key solutions for Galway. There are others such as the roll-out of a light rail system and the lifting of school transport. I noticed from Deputy Grealish and Deputy Canney in east Galway that there is a certain nuanced difference in asking for the outer bypass to be clarified one way or another to get the decision out of the way so we can focus on sustainable solutions. This is what has happened. No solutions have been implemented in my time because of putting all the eggs in one basket.
I agree with the Deputy. We do need to clarify that and to start focusing on the sustainable transport solutions for Galway. I take the Deputy's point about the west side. One of the five sites being considered is on the Barna corridor on the R336 close to the Cappagh Road and western distributory road junction. The other two are further advanced and include the one at the Oranmore junction - junction 19 - and the one just north of Claregalway. They are quite large. The one at junction 19 has 550 spaces, the one north of Claregalway has some 320 spaces while the proposed Barna one is slightly smaller with 190. I take the Deputy's point about access from the west.
The two sites are very much active in terms of site options being looked at. Regardless of whether you use CPO or other mechanisms, the office will have to decide that but they are quite far advanced. I can understand the Deputy's frustration having waited for 20 years but my understanding is that they are very close to getting decisions on some of those land options. It still has to go to planning and that takes a year or two so construction will likely start in at the end of 2025 or early 2026. With our planning system being as slow as it is, that is a reality but they are at a point where it is close to the application being ready to go into the planning process.
I am reluctant to blame a planning system that successive Governments have run down completely. We were in Mayo last week where planning vacancies were pointed out so I am not going down that route. I place the responsibility firmly on the Government.
I cannot describe the frustration. The traffic in Galway has been like this for years. In my opinion, it has been allowed to be left like that because of policy decisions. I know the Minister agrees with me on this. Policy decisions have ensure that no serious action was taken regarding traffic congestion in Galway. It involves the creative extension of school transport, at the very least a feasibility study of light rail and the urgent roll-out of park and ride. It is unacceptable that the Barna site has now gone into a long-term plan. This should all have been done when we identified it almost 20 years ago and said it was urgent that we rolled out different solutions to the traffic congestion in Galway. I ask for the Minister's support on this so that we do something really creative, urgent and serious about traffic congestion in Galway.
I mentioned the planning issues not as an excuse for Government delay but to give the reality for the Deputy's constituents. While some of these sites are pretty much ready to go, the reality as you know is that it will take a period to go through the planning system. I have a certain frustration as Minister for Transport about critical projects such as the cross-city bus service in Galway, which went into planning over a year ago. Our planning process needs to be quicker. I am supportive of what the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage is doing in updating and modernising the planning legislation. We need to do this to ensure we get quicker decisions and solutions to those problems. We are committed to Galway.
As soon as we get those sort of projects through the planning system, they will be given top priority. The Deputy's point is a valid one. Galway has the worst transport problem with significant difficulties of congestion. We need to start providing the solutions. Park and ride is one. BusConnects and, indeed, on the basis of the success of that, the upgrading to Luas for Galway is the right way forward.
