An oral hearing to discuss the environmental impact of the proposed N6 Galway city ring road should happen as soon as September, according to council officials.
Initial approval for the 18km route was delayed by the High Court in 2023 when it ruled An Bord Pleanála (ABP ) had failed to take the State’s latest Climate Action Plan into account.
Any new oral hearing this autumn is expected to have its terms restricted to discuss only data submitted in response to the Further Information request ABP sent to Galway county and city councils earlier this year after the High Court quashed its initial permission.
Information submitted is expected to refer to the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP ), which runs to 2030, and the National Long-Term Climate Action Strategy (NLTS ) which looks at the period beyond 2030.
It is understood Galway city and county council officials have almost completed the relevant data collection, and are progressing the necessary paperwork.
“With the Further Information requested [by ABP], I’m very confident with the date requested in relation to the climate action plan in relation to a September time frame. This will be down to the capacity of ABP, and an oral hearing is likely,” Galway city chief executive Leonard Cleary told city councillors at a meeting this week.
Mr Cleary began his ten year stint as city manager in May, citing delivery of the Ring Road as a top priority.
