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Friends of the Irish Environment is one of the groups that are seeking a judicial reexamination of the N6 Galway Ring Road. They claim it is absurd to construct roads in a time of climate crisis.
High Court Justice Humphreys granted permission to the FIE to review the ring road Monday.
They had originally brought the challenge last Wednesday, but it was rescheduled to allow Richard Bruton, Minister for the Environment, to be added to the notice party.
Helena Murphy of FIE said that the answer to Galway’s traffic problems lie in measures such as improved public transport, along with an “ongoing push” for pedestrianisation and bicycle lanes, instead of “more and bigger” roads.
“This project totally flies in the face of all of our environmental targets and undermines our compliance with the Habitats Directive as well as our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
“Developing roads in a climate crisis is just irrational, no matter how much one seeks to greenwash it,” Helena Murphy said.
FIE claims in its legal challenge to the ring road that An Bord Pleanála failed to act in a manner consistent with Ireland’s climate commitments in law.
The group also claims that Bord could not have determined whether the ring road would impact sensitive habitats due to a lack site-specific objectives.
Galway Race Committee is also seeking to have the ring road judicially reviewed so that their stables in Ballybrit are not destroyed.
It said that appropriate mitigation for this loss was not provided by An Bord Pleanála, despite the recommendation of the Bord inspector.
Galway City proposes to link the M6 near the Coolagh Roundabout to Barna with a dual carriageway 18km bypass.
The €600 project would involve building a new bridge over the Corrib, as well as multiple tunnel sections, including under Galway Racecourse.
Planning permission was Grant granted for the project by An Bord Pleanála last December after many delays.
