IBEC, which represents Irish business, said the proposed Galway City Ring Road is not just of local importance, but is crucial to the entire region, when it presented its views on the Galway City Ring Road at the oral hearing on Monday.

Neil Walker Head of Infrastructure, Energy and Environment and Transport told the hearing that as a fast-growing and strategically located city perched along a narrow strip of land between the Atlantic Ocean and Lough Corrib, Galway faces unique traffic problems.

'The ring road will benefit thousands of people in and around Galway who would otherwise suffer ever-worsening congestion'

He said that Ibec members in the western region fully support the city’s ring road project as currently proposed, in conjunction with the existing Galway Transport Strategy.

"This project is not simply of local importance. Timely completion will enable the achievement of ambitious national and regional planning objectives over the next two decades.

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"These include substantial growth in the region’s population and amenities, providing opportunities for employment, education, tourism and leisure. The ring road will benefit thousands of people in and around Galway who would otherwise suffer ever-worsening congestion, not to mention health and safety hazards relating to traffic accidents and air quality.

"Our members are also fully behind the Galway Transport Strategy, which was developed by modelling several different scenarios of varying investment ambition. The best overall outcome out of all these scenarios featured a full orbital bypass from the N6 on the east through to the Bearna Road on the west. We believe that measures to promote active travel and public transport measures, and the Ring Road project, will complement each other," he concluded.