Tara protester to contest M3 legality

An environmental activist has secured leave from the High Court to bring proceedings aimed at securing the rerouting of the M3 motorway away from the Hill of Tara.

Vincent Salafia claims it is not necessary for the M3 motorway, in order to be completed on time and within budget, to breach the Tara complex. He says an alternative route between Navan and Dunshaughlin considered by the National Roads Authority and Meath County Council offers a suitable alternative, since it is 2.5km (1.6 miles) shorter and would not breach the complex.

Mr Justice Liam McKechnie yesterday granted leave to Gerard Hogan SC, for Mr Salafia, of Dodder Vale, Churchtown, Dublin, to bring proceedings challenging directions given by the Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, regarding the treatment of 38 known archaeological sites along a stretch of the proposed M3 motorway.

Mr Salafia is among several environmentalists and archaeologists who have expressed concerns over the impact of the road development on the archaeological landscape surrounding the Hill of Tara. In an affidavit yesterday, Mr Salafia said his lawyers had approached Conor Newman of NUI Galway and Dr Edel Bhreatnach of University College Dublin to swear affidavits for the proceedings but they felt unable, for professional reasons, to do so. However, they would give oral evidence, if called on, in relation to the importance of the discoveries at Tara.

Mr Justice McKechnie said he did not think it appropriate at this stage of the case to make directions regarding oral evidence and said that matter could be addressed later. On June 14th last, it was reported that preliminary works involving topsoil-stripping and metal-detecting had already started under the supervision of a consultant archaeologist retained by Meath County Council and the National Roads Authority.

Mr Salafia says the directions regarding the M3 are in excess of the Minister's powers and are issued under the incorrect provisions of the National Monuments Amendment Act 2004.

In any event, he claims the relevant provisions are unconstitutional in that they fail to afford adequate protection for national monuments. He also claims the Minister failed to have regard to the State's obligations towards national monuments.

Activists had called on Mr Roche to issue directions ordering the full preservation of the sites - which would require the rerouting of the road away from the Tara site - while the National Museum director, Dr Wallace, advised the Minister to issue a preservation order for the whole area around Tara.

The action is against the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Meath County Council, Ireland and the Attorney General. The National Roads Authority is also entitled, if it wishes, to be joined as a notice party.

In granting leave, the judge said the threshold for the granting of leave in such cases was that an applicant had to establish an "arguable" case.

He had found Mr Salafia had reached that threshold but, in so finding, the judge stressed he was not embarking on any substantial assessment or evaluation of the facts. He also made directions aimed at a speedy hearing of the case and returned the matter to July 14th.

The judge noted that a Supreme Court decision, to be delivered later this month in separate proceedings concerning the controversial routing of the Southern Cross motorway near Carrickmines Castle, could have a significant bearing on issues in the case.

In his proceedings, Mr Salafia claims that, when issuing the 38 directions last May, the Minister had incorrectly decided that he could not lawfully make directions which would result in the route of the motorway being altered.

He says the directions are unlawful and outside the powers of the Minister because they were invoked under the incorrect provision of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 2004.

He says the directions were issued under Section 14.A.2 of the Act which directions are not required to be complied with by the roads authority. Nor are there policies and guidelines in existence to govern the exercise of discretion in the making of the directions, he says.