Traffic chaos forces Reilly to abandon car
HEALTH Minister Dr James Reilly had to abandon his car and walk for half-an-hour in the rain through traffic to reach a meeting with hospital bosses in Galway last Friday evening.
Dr Reilly was two hours late for the meeting and had to cancel another meeting to discuss funding with Galway Hospice.
A minor accident and roadworks were blamed for the heavy traffic, but former Mayor of Galway, Councillor Padraig Conneely, said such traffic delays were now becoming the norm.
"It is unfortunate that the minister was caught in the delay but now he knows what we have to endure in Galway on a daily basis," said the Fine Gael councillor.
"We need to build an outer bypass," he added.
Dr Reilly got out of his car near the Menlo Park Hotel and walked about a mile to University Hospital Galway.
It was raining at the time and it took the minister about half-an-hour to reach the hospital, where he was meeting the new CEO Bill Maher.
"The meeting was scheduled for 4pm, but it was nearer to 6pm when he got there," said Mr Conneely.
A planned meeting with officials from Galway Hospice later that evening had to be cancelled.
Irish Independent
