Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have submitted several parliamentary questions on the issue of the Loughcrew megalithic tombs, also known as the Hills of the Witch. This is a group of neolithic passage tombs near Oldcastle in County Meath. Spread over four undulating peaks the tombs date back to approximately 3000 BC. Cairn T of Loughcrew is older than the pyramids in Egypt has stood silent over the Irish landscape for millennia, keeping the secrets of our prehistoric past locked beneath its stone cairn and within its ornately carved chambers.

However, coming up to six years now since 2018, Cairn T in Loughcrew has been closed to the public and propped up with an aquajack. The closure of Cairn T, which is older than the Egyptian pyramids, has impacted local tourism in north Meath. Rabbits are currently burrowing and damaging the structure while the OPW shows very little urgency in preserving Cairn T. I request that the Government intervenes with urgency and confirms a firm date for when the restoration works on Cairn T will begin? The allocation of necessary resources and expert attention to this site must be made a priority, something not done by the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, before his promotion. Is that what the Taoiseach does with all of his failures: promote them?

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