The last Galway Ring Road objector: Ex-Government minister's backchannelling led to negotiations
Five government TDs and ministers attended tense negotiations at City Hall last week, when an agreement was struck with the last remaining legal objector to the Galway City Ring Road
Negotiations that led to the withdrawal of the last remaining legal objection to the Galway City Ring Road this week were the result of backchannelling by a former government minister, Galway Live can reveal.
Frank Fahey, who served as a Fianna Fáil TD in Galway between 1982 and 2011, acted as an intermediary between council officials and active-travel advocate Shane Foran, who withdrew his High Court proceedings on Monday.
The withdrawal followed a day of tense negotiations at City Hall last Friday, which were attended by five government TDs and ministers, as well as representatives from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).
Galway City Council and Galway County Council eventually reached an agreement with Mr Foran, providing commitments in relation to pedestrian and cycling facilities on the proposed route and in the city.
The withdrawal of High Court proceedings on Monday morning removed the final legal obstacle for the Ring Road, clearing the way for the long-awaited infrastructure to proceed.
Galway Live understands that the headings of the deal with Mr Foran had been agreed in principle in recent weeks, with Mr Fahey working to narrow the gap between the negotiating positions of the two sides behind the scenes.
By the time the active-travel advocate arrived at City Hall at 11am last Friday, the outline of a deal had been drafted – but this began to be picked apart by lawyers for the council when he sat down with Director of Services Derek Pender.
Witnesses said “sticking points” emerged when legal experts sought clarification on the precise meaning of certain commitments contained in the agreement, and these had to be “thrashed out”.
Galway City Council Chief Executive Leonard Cleary and Head of Transport Uinsinn Finn then joined negotiations and were updated on progress in reaching an agreement with Mr Foran.
It is understood that Mr Foran wanted a political presence at the talks, and local government TDs were contacted to attend City Hall and advised that a major breakthrough on the Ring Road was close.
John Connolly, who had been involved in unofficial talks beforehand, was joined by Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton, Minister of State Sean Canney, Fine Gael TD Sean Kyne, and Minister of State Noel Grealish.
Due to public procurement rules and other processes, there were difficulties in including specific, legally binding commitments in the agreement, and it was clear that an element of good faith would be involved.
For this reason, Mr Foran wanted elected representatives at the talks to provide political commitments in relation to active-travel measures. These were forthcoming, with no objection in principle to the proposed concessions.
An agreement was within touching distance and the political representatives sensed a “palpable feeling” in the room of the importance of the moment for Galway after such a long wait for the Ring Road.
They each said a few words to mark the occasion, echoing the same sentiments repetitively, and the document was signed. There was an ebullient atmosphere, but there was no time to celebrate.
Mr Foran had to hop on his bike and race to find an independent solicitor to witness the documents and file them at the courthouse before it closed in order for the withdrawal of legal proceedings to go ahead on Monday.
Under the agreement, Galway City Council has undertaken to “progress the possibility of providing high-quality” walking and cycling facilities on roads affected by the Ring Road, including the Headford Road, Ballymoneen Road, and Letteragh Road.
A number of “pinch points” where vehicles come into close proximity with cyclists will also be reviewed by the local authority, and a policy will be developed in relation to cycling on one-way streets.
Mr Foran believes that the concessions he secured in the negotiations were the best that could be achieved in the circumstances – certainly without the presence of the National Transport Authority (NTA).
Other cycling campaigners have hailed the commitments as a gamechanger in certain areas of the city, while the one-way reviews have the potential to greatly improve active travel.
There was a sense at the talks that Mr Foran was sincerely motivated. This was reflected in his wish list, which is a charter of changes aimed at improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists. There was no shakedown.
When Noel Grealish said words to this effect to Mr Foran and intimated how glad he was that an agreement had been reached to everyone’s satisfaction, the cyclist replied: “Don’t count your chickens, Noel. You’d better hope I don’t get knocked off my bike between now and Monday.”