John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

Under the provisions of section 4 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1954, a temporary preservation order may be placed on a national monument that appears to me to be in immediate danger of injury or destruction. Such orders are invoked as an interim protective measure to deal with immediate threats to monuments and have a finite duration of six months. Upon their expiration, such orders may be renewed or alternative measures to protect the monument in the longer term may be put in place.

On the basis of the advice available to me, I was satisfied there was a risk of damage to the national monument known as Rath Lugh, a hill-top enclosure in the townland of Lismullin, County Meath. Given its archaeological importance, I placed a temporary preservation order on it on 28 September 2007. Prior notification of my intention in this regard was sent to the registered owner of the lands on which the monument is located, Coillte Teoranta. My Department will engage with Coillte in the coming weeks to consider how the monument can best be protected in the longer term.

The site of the monument is delineated and defined on a map annexed to the order and is adjacent to, but outside, the lands on which the M3 motorway is to be constructed.

In the exercise of my statutory functions in the protection of national monuments, I am concerned to ensure that the construction of the motorway does not damage the monument itself. I am also anxious to ensure that construction works do not destabilise the esker or ridge on which the monument is located and thus have the effect of causing damage to the monument. With this in mind, it is my intention to continue to monitor conditions in the vicinity of the site of the monument at Rath Lugh to ensure that no damage occurs thereto. I have also asked my Department to commission a report from an independent company of geotechnical consultants on the stability of the esker and I await their report on this aspect of the matter.

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