Government ministers have allocated an unprecedented €3 billion toward transport infrastructure for Galway.
Three headline projects - the N6 Galway City Ring Road, a new city bus network, and a Galway-Mayo rail link - are each to be allocated around €1 billion in the revised National Development Plan (NDP ).
As the Advertiser went to print, cabinet ministers were hammering out final details of the largest ever singular infrastructure investment in the history of Galway city. The city and county is also expected to benefit from a national €35.9 billion investment in water and energy infrastructure to expedite house building.
Ministers are also considering a temporary Emergency Powers Bill to accelerate infrastructure and housing delivery, and a Civil Reform Bill to rebalance individual and public interest rights in the planning and judicial systems.
Minister of State, Noel Grealish, confirmed more than €1 billion will be allocated to build an outer city ring road - subject to Coimisiún Pleanála approving it by January.
Minister for Education and Youth, Hildegarde Naughton, has confirmed another €1 billion will be made available for Galway city's BusConnect project.
The Western Rail Corridor (WRC ) from Athenry to Claremorris, championed by Minister of State Sean Canney, will be funded by a further €1 billion, with the possibility for future extensions.
Pledges
Grealish, from Carnmore, says funding will be ringfenced to build a Claregalway bypass, to reduce the 20,000 vehicles transiting the village daily. Subject to design, planning and construction, this could cost up to €60 million.
The city's ring road was originally costed at €600m in 2021, but Grealish himself has publicly speculated it may cost between €1.25bn and €1.5bn. "This is why I demanded more than €1bn from the NDP," he told the Advertiser.
“Finally, after more than a quarter of a century in the making, since plans for a Galway bypass were first published in the late 1990s, we can see light at the end of the tunnel," he said, adding that ring road money was a red line for the non-party TD's participation in government. Grealish believes confirmed funding means no construction delays if the dual carriageway gets planning permission, and certainty for the 54 home owners whose properties will be compulsorily purchased along the N6 route.
Oranmore-based Naughton was promoted to full cabinet rank last week, with a reshuffle necessitated by Pascal Donohoe's resignation.
“All these projects are vital to the people of Galway and the West. They now have a funding commitment and I will, without any hesitation, be using my seat at Cabinet to advance their delivery,” she promised.
Naughton said sections 2 and 3 of the Athenry Relief Road will receive €10m, and confirmed an unspecified sum toward the Maam to Clifden section of the N59. She said she wants to see the Western Rail Corridor extended from Claremorris to Knock Airport, thence Sligo.
Sean Canney told Galway Bay FM the WRC does not need planning permission, so new lines may begin in 2028, with a completion date in 2031. He said NDP funding means enabling works, such as fencing and route clearing, may begin immediately.
Sources with knowledge of cabinet discussions said there was a concerted effort from a number of government ministers to ensure a big chunk of the €102.4 billion NDP monies ear-marked up to 2030 "went to the regions" - beyond Greater Dublin and Cork - especially for transport. Mayo TD, Minister Dara Calleary, is said to have driven this conversation. A further €100 billion will be allocated for projects up to 2035.
Although Galway city is targeted for significant population and employment growth in the NDP as a hub for the West's economy, there has so far been no news that Galway City Council will have its government funding status upgraded from the bottom rung of local authorities, up to Tier 4.
This re-ranking would increase the local authority's central funding by 20 per cent, and expectations were high since taoiseach Micheál Martin said Galway representatives "made a strong argument" to boost the city from Tier 5 during NDP discussions last summer.
