Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to comment on the Leinster orbital route. We need early action and to see the route finalised, as urged by the National Transport Authority. It is regrettable that capital funding has not been provided for the provision of this route, which will be a key piece of infrastructure around many towns and counties. The fact no funding has been provided in the plan up to 2035 is most regrettable. I will seek that this key piece of infrastructure is progressed. The petition mentions the Hill of Tara and Brú na Bóinne. One could not build a wendy house in Brú na Bóinne, such are the stringent planing guidelines, and I should know, having worked on many Meath county development plans. The protections that are in place for Brú na Bóinne are extensive, and rightly so.

The protection of lives is equally important. The Slane bypass is still mired in controversy and there has been lack of funding and of planning decisions. Many people have been killed on that deadly bridge and yet we are not able to provide that crucial infrastructure. Infrastructure, such as the Leinster orbital route, is critical. It is misleading to mention places like Brú na Bóinne and the Hill of Tara in this context. I know the Hill of Tara very well because I live only a few miles away. I spend most weekends on the Hill of Tara with my children, and spent most weekends there as a child. It is an intrinsic part of the lives of Meath people and I am privileged to live beside it. When I stand on the Mound of the Hostages most weekends with my kids and I look across the Tara valley, one can barely see the M3, such was the manner in which it was constructed, and yet that road was mired in planning controversy for over ten years by people who would not know how to find the Hill of Tara. Pat Kenny broadcast a radio show from the Hill of Tara while the road was being built three and a half miles away, giving people the impression that this infrastructure was going through the hill. It is wrong to paint a picture that national monuments are somehow in danger, it is misleading and it needs to be tackled.

This references the fact that, archaeologically, the M3 cost taxpayers €740 million more than the contractors were paid to build it. This was because of misinformation. When it comes to the Hill of Tara, more archaeological finds were actually discovered because of the work in the surrounding area. These are now preserved in our National Museum because of the sensitive manner in which the work was handled. We need to see action on the Leinster orbital route so that towns such as Drogheda, Navan and Naas can realise their full potential, create the counterbalance that is needed to this congested city and allow our regional towns to grow in a sustainable manner. I want to see this project happen sooner rather than later.