West does well out of Project Ireland 2040

Local business leaders are hopeful that the Government’s new ‘Project Ireland 2040’ plan will transform the region’s economy by improving connectivity along the entire Western seaboard.

To address the country’s East/West imbalance, the newly-published National Planning Framework includes a specific objective to advance the ‘Atlantic Economic Corridor’ – increasing connectivity between Galway and major centres such as Sligo, Limerick and Cork through road and rail upgrades.

The Planning Framework – dubbed ‘Project Ireland 2040’ – also includes the National Development Plan up to 2027, which sets out a €115 billion spending programme, including around €1bn for Galway’s road, rail and bus networks.

Included in the ‘shopping list’ locally is funding for the Galway City Ring Road (commonly referred to as the ‘bypass’); the N59 Moycullen Bypass; a radical overhaul of bus routes in the city, including a network of Park & Ride sites; the potential for higher speeds on the Galway-Dublin rail line; the potential extension of the Western Rail Corridor from Athenry to Tuam and on to Claremorris; the prioritisation of a Galway-Dublin greenway and the provision of improved pier facilities on Inis Oírr.

David Sisk of Ibec West said: “Improving connectivity along the Atlantic Economic Corridor will allow the significant growth potential of our regions to be realised. Project Ireland 2040 can have a transformative impact on the economic wellbeing of the West.”

However, the 2040 plan has come in for heavy criticism from Opposition TDs, who claim it is simply a repackaging of existing proposals and projects, and that economic progress in urban centres will be to the detriment of rural Ireland.

Also included in the plans are a non-emergency hospital and a new ambulance base on the grounds of Merlin Park Hospital; a new Emergency Department and oncology facilities at University Hospital Galway and a new 50-bed ward block at Portiuncula.

See full breakdown of projects in this week’s Connacht Tribune.