The Minister for the Environment has said it is not within his power to significantly vary the route of the proposed M3 motorway through Co Meath.
Commenting as members of the Oireachtas Committee on the Environment visited archaeological sites in the Tara/Skryne valley yesterday, Mr Roche said his role in the current controversy was to decide on the method of preservation of archaeological artefacts. "But to vary the route is not my decision" he said.
Under the National Monuments Amendment Act the Minister has the power to direct how individual archaeological sites are preserved, including the authority to insist they remain in situ.
The Minister added the route selection had been "confirmed by Bord Pleanála", but critics of the road say he could effectively block it by insisting that each archaeological site remain intact and in the ground.