Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Gallagher, and thank Senator McCarthy for giving me the opportunity to contribute on the Bill. I listened carefully to the comments being made across the floor and agree with much of what was said during the debate. I live close to the area which has been the subject of the long-running saga surrounding the extension of the M50 to the south-eastern motorway. Given the events of the past ten years, I naturally ask how we are to strike a balance between protecting our monuments and environment and making progress in the common good.

I am of course an environmentalist and love our heritage. I worked with the county council in south Dublin for 19 years. During that time, I campaigned for the preservation of the magnificent Rathfarnham Castle and am proud and delighted it remains a symbol of our heritage. Riversdale House, associated with WB Yeats, is also in the area and was the subject of a campaign, of which I was part, whereby a preservation order was put on the building. Therefore, it cannot be said I am not anxious to protect the environment and our national monuments.

Nonetheless, we must ask how we can balance the necessary building of roads when excavation works uncover national monuments in their path, which is also now an issue on the motorway route in County Waterford. Would the public want us to delay projects for ten years and not make progress? A balance must be struck. We must revisit the issue and update the national monuments legislation in the future while using the Bill as an interim measure in the context of the decisions which must be made to allow the M50 development to proceed without interference to the common good.

While I welcome the Bill, I am concerned it would give too much power to the Minister in the future, although I admire the Minister and welcome his decisions on major projects. Let us go back to the drawing board. If we can send rockets to the moon, we should be able, before we reach the planning and design phase, to determine a proper route which factors in the possibility of heritage sites and excavation works. In this context, we should revisit the national monuments legislation and have a more comprehensive discussion regarding improved co-ordination with local authorities.

I read of an interesting committee in Cork, the brief of which was to survey and protect all of the monuments in County Cork. All local authorities should become more involved in this area and work with outside experts, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and other agencies to try to get ahead of ourselves when deciding on future routes.

I welcome the Bill only on the basis that it is proper for the type of project under way at Carrickmines. For five years, I have experienced delays on the M50 and there is a significant cost to the public purse in this regard. While the Bill is necessary, we should return to the drawing board to consider how we may make preparations for the future. At the same time, I accept that until excavations are made, we do not know what may be found. I compliment the archaeologists and other heritage experts involved with the M50 project who have a genuine interest in protecting our heritage. However, we must also think in terms of the common good. The dilemma for the Minister is to get the balance right between the common good and protecting our heritage. I know the Minister is very much in sympathy with this thinking.