This business about the M3 road being run through the hill of Tara is nothing new. It is however back in the news again. This time because a protester has chained herself inside a tunnel under which the roadworks are taking place. Her life is now in danger as the traffic of diggers passing over the tunnel puts it at risk of collapse. What I am finding difficult to understand however, is why this issue has gone on for so long. The simple fact is that these sites are part of Irish history, and perhaps more importantly, they are part of our heritage! So if there is any question of them being put in danger the project should either be closed down, or at the very least be re-routed, so far from the site as not to cause an issue.
Work at the site had to be halted yesterday because one protester has chained herself inside a tunnel, a tunnel which is as already stated, is at risk of collapse from diggers passing overhead. If the ground in the region is this unstable then surely the building work is putting the ancient site at risk as building surveyor Peadar O’Ceallaigh has already stated when he told the courts that damage to the site had already been caused in a survey he had already carried out. The fact is that the site of both the rath, and the road are on an esker, which means that the foundations for both will be very unstable if the development continues.
Minister for the environment John Gormley placed a preservation order on the site and also placed a buffer zone around it last month. Why did it take until last month for the minister to issue this order, as this can be seen as an environmental issue as much as it can be seen as an issue of transport. There have also been questions raised as to whether the buffer zone is in fact the size that the Ministers office originally stated it at 100 meters from the rath, which was then shortened to 25 meters and now 20. If this is the case, then surely the fact that building work has taken place on the rath itself, is in breach of this order. Why then has the minister allowed this development to continue? Or is it simply that he has no interest in this case?
It has also been made clear to both the NRA and the government that there is sufficient land in this area to re-direct the road away from the site which would prove less costly in the long run as maintenance to the road would not need to be as extensive as it will be in its current route. Also by altering the route it would diminish the risk of further damage to the site and to the potential risk s of the protesters. If this were any other country the question of potentially demolishing a historical site for the development of a motorway would be laughable, so why then is it the common practice in this country to go ahead and proceed until it is brought to the governments attention by the public?
This is just another example of the Irish governments policy of sitting on its hands and hoping that the problem goes away. Unfortunately by the time the government intervenes as always the plans have already begun development. This is the perfect opportunity for John Gormley to regain some credibility as a “Green” representative, and prove that his goals are to protect the environment rather then to simply introduce green related taxes as his office has put forward since the election.
