Labour's Deputy Michael D Higgins has been joined by party colleague Councillor Billy Cameron in his call for more transparency on the Ceannt Station redevelopment.

Cllr Cameron is calling on representatives of Bus Eireann and Irish Rail along with the property wing of CIE to make an updated presentation of the plans for the redevelopment of Ceannt Station.

Cllr Cameron has requested that CIE personnel address a meeting of the city council in order to explain how lands belonging to the body are to be sold for commercial use rather than being held for transport use.

"CIE's proposal for twin towers, 18 stories high and home to flats and shops, is based on maximum financial gain from the site with a few crumbs of appeasement thrown at the people of Galway, such as the upgrading of a platform at the station and the offer of a disused shed to the arts community," said Cllr Cameron. He also raised the question of a light rail system for Galway, asking why CIE had not made any provision for this.

Meanwhile, Deputy Michael D Higgins has said CIE has new questions to answer. The Galway West TD claims that a Freedom of Information (FoI) request he submitted has yielded the information that the goal of CIE in relation to the station is to "free nine acres of land for residential and commercial development." This, he claims, would be two-thirds of a site "held for public transport by the body with the statutory obligation for providing public transport."

Barry Kenny of CIE was unavailable for comment.

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