Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I understand that the Deputy wanted to raise this matter yesterday. As he knows, I was launching the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival and was not in a position to be in two places at once. I apologise for that. I know that he wanted me present today.

An archaeological assessment was carried out in this case as part of the normal pre-planning process for the new development. This assessment, comprising a geophysical survey and archaeological test excavations, identified the presence of subsurface archaeological remains. Given the nature of the evidence, I approved the excavation of the site. The archaeological excavations have been carried out under an excavation licence granted by my Department under the National Monuments Acts and in accordance with the method statement approved by the Department as part of the licensing process. The objective of an archaeological assessment is to verify that the approaches to preservation in situand preservation by record of archaeological material are applied appropriately to any particular development. All excavation licences are issued on the basis that the investigations are for the purpose of searching for archaeological features and to provide for their subsequent recording or protection. A standard licence condition requires a report to be submitted to the Department on the results of each investigation. The Department's National Monuments Service will receive this full report of the excavation findings in due course. Hence, I am not in a position currently to comment in any detail on what may have been discovered. I understand that the excavation at the site has recently been completed. It is intended that the full record of the excavations at the site will be made available and it is expected that the archaeologist who directed the excavation will publish a full account of the results in a suitable archaeological publication.

A referral in respect of enabling works that are currently subject to a live planning application has not yet been received by my Department from South Dublin County Council. The Department will comment as appropriate, assuming such a referral is received and in light of what is contained in the archaeological report. When the Department receives planning applications as a statutory consultee, they are considered in terms of their archaeological implications and appropriate recommendations are made to the planning authority where necessary. In applicable cases, this may result in the planning authority requesting further information from a developer in the form of a report on archaeological test excavations or the carrying out of such test excavations as a condition of grant of planning permission by the planning authority. These conditions are imposed by the planning authority and may be based on recommendations from the Department. In appropriate cases, the full archaeological excavation of archaeological deposits impacted by the development will be required as condition of the grant of planning permission.

The site in question came to light in the course of an archaeological assessment comprising a geophysical survey and test excavation, which were commissioned by the developer as part of preparing plans to develop the lands. In the absence of such an assessment, the site might never have come to light. It consists of an enclosed ditch, with burials in parts of it. On the basis of test excavations, it appeared to date from early medieval times. No surface features existed and the site was completely unknown prior to the archaeological assessment. As such, it was not subject to any legal protection under the National Monuments Acts. Having regard to the absence of any visible surface feature and the difficulty in preserving such a site on lands likely to be developed in some form in the future, including where a use is found for the site that is consistent with its preservation, the National Monuments Service agreed with the developer that the site could be fully archaeologically excavated by a professional archaeologist, working under licence from me as per the Acts.

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