Galway Mayor meets with An Taoiseach in Government buildings

Galway City Mayor Cllr Eddie Hoare met with An Taoiseach and Fine Gael Party Leader, Leo Varadkar, in Government Buildings last Tuesday evening (July 4^th).

The Taoiseach, along with all of his senior Ministers, met with the 13 Fine Gael Councillors who have recently been elected as the first citizen of their city or county.

Cllr Hoare was first elected as a councillor in 2019 and began his term as Mayor in June. He outlined some of his main priorities in his new role.

Cllr Hoare said: “I strongly support the implementation of the Galway Transport Strategy.  A full review of the Strategy is planned and I’ll be pushing for this review to be brought forward and prioritised.

“The Galway City Ring Road project is a key part of the Galway Transport Strategy. Galway City and County needs this decision to be prioritised by An Bord Pleanala. Bus Connects also forms a vital part of the Galway Transport Strategy. The Cross City Link and Dublin Road Bus Corridor can transform our city’s bus network. Again, we need action from An Bord Pleanala so these projects can be progressed.

“I’d like to see further progress on the Clifden to Galway Greenway. This has so much potential as an active travel initiative and will bring increased economic prosperity to our City by way of tourism.

“The proposed development of a Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge across the pillars of the old Clifden Railway will form the landing point of the Greenway into Galway City. This will be another iconic project for our City and I expect this project to be further progressed in the coming year.

“The redevelopment of Ceannt Station is also a key project for our City. It has received significant financial support through the Urban Regeneration Development Fund and I’d expect to see progress on this project in the year ahead. The Dyke Road and Sandy Road Regeneration sites primarily owned by Galway City Council and managed by the Land Development Agency have so much potential especially in the form of fulfilling our housing needs. We need to unlock this potential and see tangible progress on both sites.

“Since being elected I’ve worked closely with Newcastle Combined Community Association – an entity pushing for the development of a Community Centre in Newcastle. I expect to see further progress on the delivery of a Community Centre in Newcastle. This project has been worked on for nearly 20 years and I’m determined to see it delivered.

“Investment in Sports Facility for the region is also a key priority. Having played for the Galway footballers for a number of years I’m acutely aware of the importance of sport in our Communities.”

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: “I had a good two-hour meeting with Councillor Hoare in Government Buildings on Tuesday evening to discuss the issues that matter to the people of Galway city. The meeting gave Councillor Hoare the opportunity to raise these issues directly with me. I committed to Councillor Hoare to work on these issues.

“The need for more funding this year for local and regional road maintenance and, in the coming years, funding to advance new road projects that are delayed and the urgent need to service much more land for housing were raised at the meeting. On energy security and climate, they impressed on me the need to increase aid to schools, community buildings and businesses to install solar panels and become energy efficient.

“I look forward to working with Councillor Hoare and visiting Galway city during his term as Mayor.”

Fine Gael is making a real impact in communities through the hard work of our local representatives. With 13 Mayors/Cathaoirligh across the country Fine Gael is representing stronger, safer communities in every part of the country.

ENDS