“An act of insanity” – Irish Doctors for Environment verdict on Galway Ring Road

The Ring Road project approved by An Coimisiún Pleanála is an 18km orbital route stretching from the end of the M6 motorway at Coolagh to a point west of Bearna village.

The Irish Doctors for Environment group said the timing of the decision “could not be more ironic, amidst a global fossil fuel crisis and a climate emergency”.

“The current fuel crisis is exposing just how vulnerable our fossil-fuel-reliant transport system truly is. Building more roads will exacerbate this further,” the group said.

Irish Doctors for Environment has consistently opposed the Ring Road and argued in favour of investment in public transport including tram, active travel, better rail and improved bus connections.

It said the Ring Road “may be sold as a solution” but “it is not”.

“Decades of road building and car-centric sprawl across the world have shown us that,” it said.

“Galway could become a city that prioritises health for the people and the planet. Instead, politicians and planners seem hell-bent on turning it into yet another city surrounded by a massive road,” Irish Doctors for Environment said.

The road includes 5.6km of single carriageway, 11.9km of dual carriageway, a new bridge over the River Corrib, two viaducts (one at the University of Galway Sporting Campus and one at Menlough), two tunnels (including one beneath Lough Corrib SAC near Lackagh Quarry and one under part of Galway Racecourse).

It will involve the demolition of 44 homes, and the acquisition of 10 more; the demolition of two industrial properties and two commercial properties; the demolition of a protected structure; and the acquisition of 17 farm buildings.

It was broadly welcomed by politicians across the political spectrum.