Minister for the Environment John Gormley has made it clear that he "does not have the power to reroute the [M3] motorway away from the Tara Valley", in an information note to be posted on his department's website today.
The note says that many commentators and some politicians had "confused the issue of preservation orders on archaeological sites with a power to order a rerouting of the road", which was approved by An Bord Pleanála four years before Mr Gormley took office.
"The route of the motorway was chosen by Meath County Council and the National Roads Authority five years ago, and approved by An Bord Pleanála in 2003," the note says, adding that the Minister had "no role" in deciding on the route.
"Under National Monuments legislation, the Minister has the power to impose preservation orders on specific sites, but this would not mean a rerouting of the road. At most, a small section of the route might be affected. It would not lead to a re-routing of the road."
Presented in question-and-answer format, the information note says that in order to impose a preservation order, Mr Gormley would first have to receive advice from relevant experts to do so. "However . . . he has received no such advice in relation to any of the sites. By the time he entered office in mid-June, the excavations had been completed on almost all of the 38 archaeological sites identified along the route, which amounted to preservation by record or the removal of all of the archaeological remains," the note explains.
Referring to the directions issued by his predecessor, Dick Roche, that the Lismullen henge site would be "preserved by record", the note reiterates that the Minister had received legal advice that he could not reverse this decision unless he received important new information.
It notes that Mr Gormley had appointed an expert committee to advise on the Lismullen site. The members include Conor Newman, the foremost archaeological expert on Tara, and Dr Pat Wallace, director of the National Museum.
This committee had advised that the 2,000-year-old archaeological remains at Lismullen "are too fragile to remain in situ and must be recorded and removed", the note says, adding that "preservation in situ of Lismullen is not an option".
The committee's first report, which is also being posted on the website today, says its "very vulnerable condition" meant that it could not withstand preservation in situ and, therefore, "excavation is desirable and in the best interests of the archaeological remains".
It recommended that sand-bag booms should be placed around the site to limit damage by water run-off and silt ingress, that the site should be cleaned back in quadrants when weather allows it to dry out sufficiently and each quadrant should then be covered.
Further details are available on www.environ.ie, the Department of the Environment's website.
