PROINSIAS
Sir, - I was concerned to read in your edition of September 17th that Mr Seamus Brennan, Minister for Transport, was "not comfortable" about taking the decision to continue work on the M50 which will cover over the historic site of Carrickmines Castle.
The reason he is uncomfortable, I believe, is that he knows in his heart he has made the wrong decision - one driven solely by financial considerations at the expense of an irreplaceable part of our heritage.
It now transpires that in official circles at least the extent and importance of this site was well known and was taken into account in previous planning of road alignments.
There now needs to be a full inquiry as to why this information was withheld from the public in the preparation of the M50 alignment.
This withholding of essential information constitutes in my view a clear breach of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive. The Minister is therefore obliged in law to order a complete cessation of all works forthwith and to order the preparation of a new plan which will go through the full planning process. This is necessary so that all possible alternatives are considered in public and not behind the closed doors of the Minister's office.
I have written to the European Commission urging it to investigate probable breaches of European law, which if found to be the case will result in the loss of EU funding for the project. This is where the Commission can demonstrate its role in defence of the people and their heritage.
I have also initiated a European Parliament inquiry into the issue, by the Petitions Committee of which I am a vice-chair. - Yours, etc.,
PROINSIAS DE ROSSA, MEP,
Vice-President,
Socialist Group,
European Parliament,
Molesworth Street,
Dublin 2.
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Sir, - The despoliation of the Carrickmines site has been compared to the devastation wrought at Wood Quay, yet this site is so valuable that its destruction is on a par with the burning of so many of our public records in 1922.
Equally outrageous are the plans that the loss of this invaluable site will be compensated for by the erection of an archaeology park and "heritage facility". These examples of Hiberno-Disney kitsch will no doubt form an integral and valuable part of the "heritage carousel" in this country. One of these will contain elements from the site lucky enough to be saved from the bulldozers' jaws.
How ironic that these features, which have stood immobile for well over seven centuries, should be so easily moved, when the much younger plans of the National Roads' Authority show such inertia. - Yours, etc.,
CIARAN G. PARKER Ph.D,
(Mediaeval historian),
Earlsvale Road,
Cavan.