Economic congestion will cost Galway dear
The economic cost of traffic congestion in Galway City is set to more than treble to €107 million a year, in the next two decades.
The grim forecast has prompted climate change experts to urge the Government to accelerate public transport initiatives, including light rail or GLUAS.
Climate Change Advisory Council chair Marie Donnelly warned Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien that the cost of traffic congestion in the Galway Metropolitan Area was projected to rise from €35.3 million in 2022 to €106.9 million by 2040.
The statistic – contained in a 2025 Department of Transport Cost of Congestion in Regional Cities report – was ‘stark’, and called for Government interventions, she said.
Ms Donnelly said Irish cities, including Galway, were “growing increasingly congested, resulting in huge levels of public frustration, increased transport emissions, significant loss of economic productivity and negative impacts on public health and quality of life for people stuck in prolonged traffic”.
She told Minister O’Brien that the Government needed to progress shovel-ready transport projects.
The Climate Change Advisory Council in its letter to the minister also referenced that a light rail system in Galway has been identified as “essential investment for new public transport infrastructure to address congestion and emissions”.
The Council also referenced plans for Park and Ride in Galway and called for the “rapid rollout” of such as facility at Cappagh Road.
Ms Donnelly warned the Minister that the advisory Council was concerned that not enough of the Budget for 2026 was for public transport.
“Our cities are choking with congestion; our transport emissions are not reducing fast enough to meet our legally binding targets and the people of Ireland are growing increasingly frustrated with the ever-growing congestion and inadequate public transport options available to them,” she said.
“Expanding the road network is not the answer to alleviating congestion, as evidence shows that expanding road capacity actually induces growth in traffic volumes.
“Increasing and improving public transport services is a more effective intervention for reducing congestion.
“Failure to deliver a modern, reliable and cost-effective public transport system does not meet national ambition, societal need or emissions reduction targets,” she added.
The intervention comes as Galway awaits a decision from An Coimisúin Pleanála on the proposed Galway City Ring Road.
The GLUAS committee locally has called on Galway City and County Councils to back its request for the NTA to commission the next phase of the light rail development which is to begin a ‘suggested routes report’, necessary to progress the ambitious project.
Gridlock was on the agenda at a public meeting in Galway City on Tuesday organised by the Labour Party’s Galway West bye-election candidate, Councillor Helen Ogbu. That was addressed by Brendan Holland, chair of GLUAS in Galway.