Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail)

The capacity of the existing two lane road is 13,800 vehicles per day. That is not capable of delivering the current needs. This project will result in reductions of between 75% and 90% in through traffic in the towns of Dunshauglin, Navan and Kells. That will have a tremendous impact on the lives of those who live in those towns. While it is very important to protect archaeological elements in our country, it is also important that we protect the lives of those who are living in this era and whose lives will contribute to the archaeology of future generations. We should be mindful of the fact that future generations will look upon whatever road is developed as the archaeology of the future.

The new motorway will also benefit everyone living along the existing N3 by removing the majority of the traffic and associated congestion, which currently affects their lives on a daily basis. The present road is not coping with current traffic volumes. The chosen route lies 1.5 km to the east of the designated area of recorded monuments and east of the existing N3. As it passes through the Tara-Skryne valley, the motorway will be a greater distance from the Hill of Tara than the existing N3. The scheme has been designed to minimise physical and visual impact on the archaeological landscape around Tara.

A considerable amount of archaeological work was carried out. A test trench was excavated along the central line, with cross trenches dug every 20 m. The net result has been that archaeological sites have been found which would never have been discovered otherwise. From an archaeological point of view, it will provide an overall understanding of life in the past.

We often concentrate too much on what is considered to be the destruction of sites during road projects, but it should be considered that the excavation of sites associated with roads has provided a great deal of information about life in a bygone era. It would be wrong to suggest there is a need to retain such sites. They should be investigated and excavated, the information found during the archaeological dig should be recorded and matters should then proceed.

It is important, for obvious reasons, to ensure that those who are living on this island in the current era can go about their daily lives. The construction of the roads needed to facilitate that does not have to involve the destruction of historic monuments. There is a need to seek common ground during the consultation phase, for example, during the planning stages when archaeologists and representatives of An Bord Pleanála are involved. After the road has been designed, however, we should move on and allow people to get on with their daily lives.