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<< News >> EC court move to save Tara site may be too late

Submitted by coldrum on Friday, 13 July 2007  Page Views: 1781

Site WatchCountry: Ireland (Republic of) County: Co. Cork Type: Artificial Mound

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THE ruling under which the Government last month gave the go-ahead to extend M3 road works through Lismullin by the Hill of Tara site breaks European law, the European Commission said last night.

A case is to be brought to the European Court of Justice in the autumn but officials and campaigners fear that may be too late to save the archaeological site as the Government delivers a "fait accompli".

Independent MEP Kathy Sinnott called on Environment Minister John Gormley to halt works straight away.

Mr Gormley - who says he will hold a conference on treatment of historic sites in the autumn - said the Commission's legal threat is being taken seriously and will be studied carefully.

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas sent a final warning to the Government on June 29 telling it to amend the 2004 National Monuments Act to include environmental impact assessments and open public consultations on the Tara site.

Officials say a recent European Court judgment ruled certain high value archaeological sites will often need more than one impact assessment as more becomes known during excavation.

The Commission has been in dispute with the Government - which insists that the relevant EC Directive does not cover actual demolition works - for over a year.

Brussels argues that there would be very little point to the Directive if it did not cover demolition. The Environmental Impact Assessment Directive covers motorways and urban development projects and specifically mentions archaeological and cultural heritage sites.

Last year the Commission advised the Government that it could not go ahead and demolish protected structures without a proper assessment which would open the way for objectors to register their concerns.

When they became aware of the Lismullin site they decided to send the final legal warning .

Strictly speaking the Commission has not ordered works to stop. What it has done is to tell the Government to change the 2004 legislation to make provision for proper impact assessment before the site is totally destroyed.

Sources indicated they would welcome an application in the Irish courts for an injunction.

independent.ie.
Contributor Bio for coldrum: Based in Milkyway, contributing since 2002. Favourite site: Avebury.

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"EC court move to save Tara site may be too late" | Login/Create an Account | 3 News and Comments
  
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€30m bill for Tara digs as M3 battle heats up by coldrum on Tuesday, 20 May 2008
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€30m bill for Tara digs as M3 battle heats up


Almost €30m has been spent so far on archaeology for the controversial M3 motorway near Tara where protesters have tunnelled in to hold up work.

This is one-tenth of the entire €300m earmarked for archaeology costs on the entire national motorway programme, the Irish Independent has learned.

The war of words continued yesterday between protesters, who have occupied tunnels they secretly made beside the Rath Lugh protected monument, and the National Roads Authority.

The Save Tara campaign group said yesterday that a young woman has vowed to seal herself into one of the tunnels to protect the hill, which is studded with ancient earthworks.

The hill is sitting on top of an esker, a collection of soil, sand and gravel. The group opposed to the motorway running near the Hill of Tara claimed that because of the fragile nature of the soil in Rath Lugh, any movement of heavy machinery in the vicinity of the Rath would collapse the tunnel, "with possible fatal consequences".

"Any eviction attempt . . is likely to end in failure, with possible catastrophic consequences.

"There are specialist tunnel rescue crews that need to be consulted before any attempt is made to end this protest," said the group.

The NRA says the new road, now costing more than €1bn, will be further away than the totally gridlocked old road and insisted it would not damage the Rath Lugh monument.

The authority has said the new motorway will be far safer than the existing road, which is 50pc more dangerous on average that other main roads.

An NRA statement yesterday said there was a preservation order on the monument at Rath Lugh and "at no point are we encroaching on the monument".

It said the contractor was putting in place a crib wall within the footprint of his work area to guarantee there will be no encroachment.

The NRA claimed that protesters were taking apart protective fencing and were digging on the site itself "causing impact on the area".

The authority said the motorway would be further away from the Hill of Tara than the existing N3 road.

The M3 motorway via Meath and Cavan has been delayed for years.

A spokesman for Environment Minister John Gormley said that an independent engineering report he commissioned after concerns were raised about possible damage to Rath Lugh had recommended a series of extra measures to protect the area.

These recommendations had been passed on to the NRA, said the spokesman for Mr Gormley.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/836430m-bill-for-tara-digs-as-m3-battle-heats-up-1313212.html
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Court battles loom in fight to save site by coldrum on Wednesday, 17 October 2007
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Court battles loom in fight to save site

Campaigners are preparing to take their battle to stop the extension of a motorway near Tara Hill, the ancient seat of the High Kings of Ireland, to courts in Strasbourg and Dublin next month.
The World Monuments Fund, a global organisation that protects ancient buildings, put pressure on the European Commission this weekend to use the European Court of Justice to halt the works at the Lismullin national monument in Co Meath.

Meanwhile The Observer has learnt that two Irish campaign groups which oppose construction near the 2,000-year-old site are going to Dublin High Court in early October to seek an injunction to stop further building in and around the monument.
In a statement this weekend to The Observer the WMF said the landscape surrounding Tara Hill - regarded as the ceremonial and mythical capital of ancient Ireland - is set to be destroyed if motorway construction continues. The fund has put Tara Hill on its top 100 list of most endangered archaeological and heritage sites across the world.

Bonnie Burnham, the president of the WMF, said: 'We are horrified at the prospect of a radical alteration of such an important site and call upon the authorities to reconsider their decision. It would be a huge loss to the world if Tara is destroyed.'

Burnham's colleague, Dr Jonathan Foyle, the chief executive of WMF Britain, said overdevelopment of the entire Tara valley would be 'an injury to the people of Ireland'. Dr Foyle said the WMF had written to the European Commission urging them to seek an interim injunction at the European Court of Justice to halt further development of the M3 motorway route at Tara.

'The World Monuments Fund calls on the European Commission and the Irish authorities to urgently re-assess the legal and ethical basis for this irreversible action before it is too late,' he said.

He added that the Irish government had ignored the advice of experts across the world who regard Tara as a heritage site of 'international significance'.

The fund released its statement following a talk on the Tara's importance in Ireland and the world at Trinity College Dublin yesterday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the campaign group Tarawatch confirmed yesterday that they are going to Dublin High Court early next month to seek an injunction to halt work at the site.

Vincent Salafia, Tarawatch's spokesman, said: 'The next step has to be go to the High Court. Because it's getting late in terms of saving Tara ourselves and possibly one other campaign group is getting ready to take the case within the next couple of weeks. The combination of our case in the High Court and a parallel case taken by the European Commission might just halt construction in the interim period.'

He also welcomed the World Monuments Fund's intervention in the Tara controversy. 'It's a very welcome development that the WMF have come on side. They have the influence and respect to pile the pressure on the likes of the EU Commission to act.

'The WMF recognises the importance of Tara and the danger to it from the motorway extension. It would be like deciding to deal with the traffic problems of say New York by building a road through Central Park. That wouldn't be allowed in New York despite its congestion because the park is such an integral part of the city. It's the same with Tara which has been around a lot longer than Central Park,' Salafia said.

This weekend environmental activists intensified their campaign. One hundred Irish harpists played outside the gates of Dail Eireann yesterday in protest. Later today Irish born actor-director Stuart Townsend will fly a plane over the Tara Valley and take aerial pictures of the site. The photographs taken from the plane will be used by artist John Quigley to create a harp-shaped landscape painting of the Tara Valley.

The Irish government argues that it needs to extend the M3 motorway given the massive population growth in towns in Co Meath and north county Dublin. It also claims the motorway will ease chronic congestion in rural towns and villages northwest of Dublin.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2175188,00.html
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Re: Too Late for the courts ??? by Condros on Sunday, 15 July 2007
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Once again the "Dance of the Clones" is being repeated in Irish politics, and I just wonder why there has been no charges of absolute corruption and fraud against "Gormley's" Green Party and that former NRA Minister Roche's political deals. Why isn't the Irish Press calling for an investigation of payoffs ?? This is a sickness where politicians no longer represent the will of the people, but always will adhere to those underhanded deals that are so lucrative.
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