Government to reply to Brussels
warning
By - Olivia Kelly in Strasbourg.
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".
© The Irish Times, 5th. September 2007.
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