LAST UPDATE | 9 Apr

PLANNING PERMISSION HAS been granted for the long-awaited Galway City Ring Road.

Galway County Council, Galway City Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland all welcomed the decision of An Coimisiún Pleanála.

A spokesperson from Galway City Council said the project is a “core component of the wider transport solution for Galway City and County”.

The three bodies also acknowledged that the “prolonged planning process” has been ”very difficult for home and property owners affected by the proposed route”.

The next stage of the project will be the Enabling and Procurement stage, which includes the progression of detailed design, preparation of contract documentation and the procurement process.

Seán Canney, Minister of State for International and Road Transport, Logistics, Rail and Ports, welcomed the decision and described it as a significant milestone for Galway and the wider region.

The 18-kilometre route will run from the M6 motorway in the east of the city to west of the village of Bearna and includes a new crossing over the River Corrib.

The Government has committed over €1bn to the ring road under the revised National Development Plan.

Permission for an outer bypass had been granted in 2008 but cancelled in 2013 after a challenge in the European Court of Justice, which effectively put the plans back to square one.

An Coimisiún Pleanála then granted planning permission for the ring road in 2021.

However, that decision was then overturned by the High Court in 2023, primarily because the applicant, Galway County Council, failed to comply with Section 15 of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act.

Environmentalists had argued that the ring road would encourage motoring in defiance of climate targets. 

Canney noted that the Ring Road has been “talked about for many years” and added: “To now have planning permission in place brings a much-needed level of clarity and momentum to the project.”

He described it as a “major piece of infrastructure that has the potential to transform traffic movement around Galway, reduce congestion, and support the future growth and development of the city and surrounding areas”.

Meanwhile, Canney noted the long history of the project and the impact on local residents and added that it has been a “long and difficult process for some”.

“There are people and families who were first notified almost 20 years ago that their homes could be impacted by this project,” said Canney.

“We need to keep those individuals to the fore as we move forward.”

He called for “clear communication, fairness and respect” throughout the next stages of the project.

Elsewhere, Fine Gael senator Seán Kyne described the approval as a “momentous and seismic day” for Galway City and the surrounding areas.

“Today’s decision by An Comisiún Pleanála is a culmination of years of relentless lobbying at the highest level of Government,” said Kyne.

“This approval has been a long time coming and I know how much it means to the thousands of people who sit in gridlock every day while trying to get to work, bring their children to school or make a hospital appointment on time.”

He added that in the years since the original quashing of the decision in 2023, annual funding allocations have continued which allowed design, legal and planning works to continue.

Elsewhere, Green Party rep and candidate for Galway West Niall Murphy welcomed the “clarity” provided by the decision but remarked that “Galway deserves more than just a ring road”.

Murphy called on Government to “double down on public transport and active travel options” and added that “Galway deserves a Luas service”.

Meanwhile, the Galway Commuter Coalition has called for the “immediate” funding of Galway Bus Connects Cross-City Link & Dublin Road schemes. 

It has also called for the immediate release of the Galway Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy and immediate funding of a study to identify the preferred route of the Galway LUAS to ensure it can be delivered once the Ring Road is constructed.

“To waste this opportunity to free our city from traffic, give our citizens choice and to limit the environmental impact of the Ring Road would be catastrophic to Galway’s future citizens,” said Lochlann Gallagher, Chair of the Galway Commuter Coalition.

Social Democrats Galway West by-election candidate Míde Nic Fhionnlaoich said the planning decision “must mark an end to delays to other transport solutions in Galway City”.

“The news of the ring road approval should mean that shovel-ready transport projects we have seen paused are finally allowed to proceed,” she said.

She said public and active transport infrastructure should be implemented to reduce congestion in Galway.

“These vital projects have already been significantly delayed despite being necessary whether or not the ring road got approval. We can’t allow them to continue to rot on a shelf.”