The Government is to respond within days to the European Commission's written warning in relation to the demolition of the national monument at Lismullin, Co Meath, to make way for the M3 motorway.
It is understood that the Government will tell the commission it intends to continue construction of the road through the Tara Skryne Valley despite the discovery of archaeological remains at Lismullin. It will also defend its decision not to conduct a new environmental impact assessment (EIA) on the project following the discovery of the national monument.
The archaeological remains at Lismullin were declared a national monument by the previous minister for the environment, Dick Roche, last May. Under the National Monuments Act an EIA is required before the start of any infrastructural project, but it is not necessary to carry out further EIAs in relation to any archaeological remains found.
The European Commission wrote a "reasoned opinion" to the Government last June stating that the policy in relation to assessments was in breach of EU directives.
The letter specifically cited the Lismullin case and the decision of the Government to demolish it without conducting an EIA. The Government was given a two-month deadline to respond, which expired last week. It is understood that the text of the Government's response was still being reviewed by the Attorney General late last week and that the letter will be delivered to the commission within a matter of days, possibly before the end of this week.
The Government will say that it acted in accordance with the law in all its actions in relation to the construction of the motorway, the archaeological sites and the conduct of EIAs. It will say it was on the basis of an independent report from the National Museum that it began excavating the Lismullin site and it will tell the commission that its actions should not be the subject of infringement proceedings at EU level.
Campaigners against the route of the motorway have said the Government faces paying millions of euro in EU fines if it allows the motorway to proceed along its current route.
However, speaking in the European Parliament yesterday, Fianna Fáil MEP Liam Aylward said the European Commission had been misrepresented by campaigners and that no legal action was being taken against the Government and that it faced no fines. "Some people who oppose this development have totally over-stated, hyped out of all proportion and misrepresented the role of the European Commission in this matter."
Mr Aylward told the parliament that a letter had been received from the commission seeking an explanation as to why an EIA was not conducted following the Lismullin discovery. He said this did not amount to legal action or an order to stop building the road.
However, Independent MEP Kathy Sinnott claims the case will come before the European Court of Justice in the coming months. "What Liam Aylward is saying is simply not true - the commission said to me that the reasoned opinion was a final warning. The commission has tagged the Lismullin case to another case which is coming before the courts in the autumn . . . The fines against the Irish people will be higher because the Government did not comply with the warning."