Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

——a balance must be drawn between doing full and excellent mitigation of sites from an archaeological viewpoint and balancing all that with the needs of ordinary men and women who spend four hours a day sitting in their cars trying to go to and from work. That is not a quality of life we want for our people, so we must balance all these issues. A balanced view in the context of the M3 is important.

The reports on the new discoveries on the M3, as submitted to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, identify burnt spreads as the most common site type. Other sites include former burial locations, possible foundations of houses, including five of relatively recent origin. Overall, the new discoveries appear to be along expected lines and do not seem to be of unique archaeological value in their own right.

The National Monuments (Amendment) Act 2004 introduced new procedures for approved road projects. A separate excavation licence is not required where such a project has been approved by An Bord Pleanála, a process which includes consideration of an environmental impact statement which will have identified the impacts involved and the extent of mitigation needed. Instead, the Act requires that any archaeological works associated with that development must be carried out in accordance with the directions of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, following consultation with the director of the National Museum of Ireland, and accordingly proper standards can be so specified for the carrying out of those works.

That is belt and braces, as is the direct involvement of the director of the National Museum of Ireland.

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