Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I welcome the publication of the Bill and wish it had come sooner. In the months since the court case in January I have become increasingly anxious as traffic conditions have deteriorated and the prospect of two cul-de-sac motorways appeared a distinct possibility. I realise there is more to the legislation than the Carrickmines issue. I realise also that if one does not live in the area perhaps there is not the same sense of urgency.

The Minister has had to deal not only with the Carrickmines issue but the possibility of similar cases arising. Some similar high profile cases have emerged since then on the M3 at Tara and on the N25, the Waterford City bypass with which the Minister will be familiar. The legislation will provide some clarity as to how these issues can be addressed.

I confess my immediate concern is Carrickmines and the problem on the south-eastern motorway. I am being a little parochial but it is understandable if one is familiar with the traffic conditions and the misery people in the area have had to tolerate every day and for much longer than was necessary. The impact on business has been incalculable in the Sandyford industrial estate in Central Park. Some tenants moved out because traffic delays made it impossible to trade. It could take over an hour to move a couple of hundred yards. That was intolerable for people. The major new town centre which is currently being built in Dundrum and many other significant investments in the area hinge on the completion of the motorway.

The direct costs to the county council, State and consequently to the taxpayer and indirect costs to every commuter, resident and business have been enormous. This is not limited to Dublin as it is part of a major road network and joins the south-east of the city and the whole south-east region with the rest of the country. The absence of this vital link has national ramifications. As far as I am concerned, the Bill could not come soon enough.

I support what the Bill does, but I have some reservation about it. The Minister agrees that it is not comprehensive. The merit of the Bill is that it provides a less cumbersome method of dealing with the issues thrown up by the discovery of a national monument or an archaeological discovery. It gives us some clarity, where previously there was none, and offers a way forward in situations similar to Carrickmines, where the court actions were the only way forward because of the stalemate. The flexibility the Bill provides might have offered a solution in Carrickmines.

One of the suggestions of those protesting in Carrickmines was that the road could be moved, either up from or to the side of the archaeological site. Even if the National Roads Authority or the county council saw that as an option to solve the problem, it could not have been entertained because it would have taken too long as it would mean going back to the very beginning to new plans, a new environmental impact statement, a new public inquiry, new CPOs and so on, effectively a process that could go on indefinitely and it would be back to the merry-go-round again.

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