Minister for Health Dr James Reilly was forced to abandon his car and walk across Galway city due to traffic gridlock. He was en route to Galway University Hospital for a meeting with the new chief executive Bill Maher, and was two hours late as a result of the delays on Friday afternoon.
The AA reported that the delays were due to an incident at the Bodkin Roundabout on the Headford Road junction.
HSE West chairman Cllr Pádraig Conneely (FG) said there had been no contingencies in place: “Nobody knew what was happening, which caused a lot of difficulty.”