Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister. I felt compelled to say a few words on this legislation. Over the past year issues have arisen in Ardsallagh, County Meath, and in Woodstown, County Waterford, as well as at Carrickmines. Emergency legislation is essentially being brought in to resolve the situation at Carrickmines. In the Minister's address, he stated the court decision was made on a technical glitch. If we have legislation brought in on an emergency basis as a result of a technical glitch, the Minister is being an opportunist. I am very surprised that Senator Mansergh stated we have given the Minister flexibility. That is one interpretation. I was also disappointed that he could see no difference between history and archaeology when it suited him. Deep down he can differentiate between them, but today he cannot see a difference and that is opportunist.

It is unbelievable that we are giving carte blanche to the NRA to row through our heritage and that the Minister is giving his blessing at the same time. The Minister verified that today in many parts of his contribution. The NRA provides a desk-top draft of the route it decides to take and will not vary from it. They sit in their offices, decide on a route and will not change. On numerous occasions criticisms were made of the NRA from the Government benches and they recently claimed we had created a monster. We have created a monster if we cannot control it. Now the Minister has rowed in behind it and allowed it to go through.

There were loud cheers from the Government benches with the demise of Dúchas, a body in which I had absolute confidence. Dúchas had created difficulties for some people, mainly developers. The reality was that it was an independent body that gave its opinion, which was solidly behind the preservation and conservation of the archaeology and heritage of this country. If the NRA can plough through heritage sites with the blessing of the Government, quibble over the significance of such sites and whether they are historical or archaeological sites, it is a poor look-out. What has happened in Carrickmines, in Waterford and in Meath will repeat itself in other areas through which we have new routes. It will also happen in Kiltullagh, County Galway, which is well known to Senator Kitt. An eminent clergyman from the US has come home and highlighted his absolute professional expertise in the area of archaeology in that area, yet the NRA dismissed him as a crank who had arrived to stifle progress in the provision of local infrastructure.

The people in the NRA get a notion of a route into their head and they will not deviate from that. I regret the other remaining independent body, An Bord Pleanála, will only be brought in on a consultative basis. This is a group that would have an independent view on decisions put before it, yet its hands have been tied again. This has all been contrived by the Minister as he wants to drive infrastructure through, regardless of the consequences to archaeological sites. Before it is too late, there is an onus on the Minister and his Department to revisit this. He should sleep on this so-called emergency legislation and someone might be inspired to improve it. We know there is an urgency for infrastructure in certain areas, but it does not have to be at the cost of destruction of so many of our archaeological sites. If we are to talk about flexibility, we should talk about the Minister's capacity to resolve the situation. He will not even think a second time about it. He is determined to go through with it at all costs. That is unforgivable and for that reason I oppose this legislation.