Tara Motorway approval is an Act of Vandalism?

The Green Party has described reports that the Government is to build the

M3 Motorway through the Tara-Skreen Valley as an ?act of vandalism?.

The Party has accused the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and

Local Government, Dick Roche of ignoring the views of the National Museum

and international opinion on the issue.

Green Party Environment spokesperson, Ciarán Cuffe TD, said today,

?If Minister Roche issues licenses for archaeological excavation along

this route, he will effectively have ignored the views of the National

Museum. This would be a dangerous precedent in Irish planning decisions.?

?Tara can not be seen in isolation from its surrounding landscape. This

motorway and the massive Blundlestown Interchange will dramatically and

irrevocably alter the landscape. Approving the road in its proposed

location would be an act of cultural and historic vandalism?, said Mr. Cuffe.

?How much of Ireland?s history is this Government prepared to sacrifice

on the altar of economic growth? ?There is now a very real danger that litigation

in the Irish Courts or in Europe will delay the motorway for many years.?

?If the Local Authorities and Government had proceeded with the earlier

proposals to bypass the towns along the route rather than build an

entirely new motorway, traffic relief would already have been delivered.?

?The National Roads Authority and An Bord Pleanála should give a greater

weighting to archaeological and heritage considerations in planning new

roads. I believe that the Route and Corridor Selection Reports prepared

for this motorway placed engineering concerns ahead of protecting

heritage. This is too high a price to pay for progress.?