Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

The Minister should wait for the amendment. Under section 14(3)(d) as inserted by section 5, the Minister will be permitted to have regard to a matter of policy of the Government or any other Minister and, under section 14(3)(f) as inserted by section 5, to the cost implications that would in his or her opinion result from granting such a consent. This is a wide provision.

I am also concerned by the provision in the new section 14A, which provides that the consent of the Minister is required for works affecting a national monument where they are connected with an approved road development, on the basis that the approval process for such roads includes consideration of an environmental impact statement that will identify the archaeological impact involved. This is blatantly not the case. When the Minister addressed the debacle at Carrickmines in his contribution, he stated, "As the excavations progressed, the full extent of the work necessary for the complete archaeological excavations, resolution and recording of an area gradually become clear." How can he claim that the archaeological impact will be fully assessed before approval of a road project?

Is the legislation in compliance with various EU directives governing heritage protection? Has it been proofed against these directives? The legislation, which seeks to overcome the Carrickmines scenario where faulty pre-planning and planning practices have led to a stand-off between those seeking to protect our heritage and those seeking to force through an infrastuctural development regardless of its impact, is nothing less than a pro-developer, anti-heritage, quick fix solution.

The history and importance of Carrickmines castle has been known for a long time. The castle has been described as a time capsule of the medieval period and has produced the largest collection of medieval objects from a rural site in the history of Irish archaeology. It is the only historically documented massacre site where men, women and children were slaughtered by Crown forces in 1642. This knowledge should have ensured that the site was avoided by the motorway route. I oppose the legislation.

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