Shane Ross (Independent)

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government, Deputy Gallagher. It is refreshing to have a Minister of State from the relevant Department in attendance for an adjournment matter in the Seanad.

I have to declare an interest – I live adjacent to the site to which I will refer and also to a site known as Jackson Way. Both sites may be familiar to Members of the House and to the general public. In my view, it is no coincidence that the controversy currently surrounding the rerouting of the M50 motorway not only includes a medieval site which should be the subject of a preservation order but also includes a site whose beneficial owners are something of a mystery. The question must be posed as to whether there is a connection between those issues.

I propose to the Minister of State that we re-route this motorway because the basic decision-making process on which the route of the motorway was based was flawed in two ways. First, an environmental impact statement was prepared which stated the Carrickmines site was of little value – that has now been completely blown out of the water. Second, the M50 route agreed runs north of where it is actually being built and was re-routed to include and bisect the Jackson Way site as well as the medieval site. What are we to make of this? I suggest the two are connected.

I ask the Minister of State if it is reasonable that the route should not be considered final until the rights and wrongs of the Jackson Way site are resolved and made public because everyone knows the history of the Jackson Way site by now. An area of perhaps 120 acres was bought by the company for €685,000, I believe, and the owners – whose names we do not know – are seeking compensation of €118 million on the basis that the land – had it not had a motorway running through it – would have been rezoned for industrial or other commercial purposes. This particular re-routing leaves many questions to answer because it has affected many others.

I plead with the Minister of State that we cannot allow this project to go ahead until what is now being discussed in Dún Laoghaire in an arbitration process is resolved and we ascertain the beneficial owner of the Jackson Way site who will benefit from the fact that the route takes in the medieval site. Once we have transparency on this matter, the next report of the Flood tribunal – this issue is to be examined in its next module – and the CAB investigation, we can make a decision on the routing of this motorway which is based on planning criteria alone.