NRA needs to fix its
mistakes
According to recent newspaper reports, Minister John
Gormley was advised by his officials not to visit the
actual site of the controversial works at Rath Lugh near
the Hill of Tara, though this did not prevent him from
making "valued judgments" about how to proceed. "Hear no
evil, see no evil" must be the latest mantra from his
department.
Fittingly, it was around this time of year when another
political figure washed his hands of a problem in such a
manner.
If there is any irony in the fact that both the Rath and
the figure of Pontius Pilate are about 2,000 years old,
it would be lost on the NRA, who don't do irony.
They do roads.
Tolled motorways.
And spend huge amounts of public money to mislead the
public who fund them.
And enlist private companies and the gardaí to
shackle legitimate protest.
And they also get their maps wrong.
They won't admit to many of these claims, but they have,
at least, admitted to getting the maps wrong at Rath
Lugh.
The NRA are proving themselves to be totally
untrustworthy, and Minister Gormley probably wishes he
had a tunnel of his own to hide in.
Minister for Transport, Meath man Noel Dempsey, must be
laughing his head off, for it is he who is really
presiding over this debacle, not Gormley.
In the meantime, fans of democracy might like to
entertain themselves over Easter by checking out the
boards of both the NRA and An Bord Pleanála.
In particular, pay attention to the previous roles of
these individuals and who appointed them. And then try
and find out how many NRA projects have been refused by
An Bord Pleanála.
Think of it as an Easter Egg Hunt, though I can't promise
there will be anything tasty hidden inside these hollow
shells.
Declan Kenny,
Leixlip,
Co. Kildare.
© The Irish Independent, 22nd. March 2008.
Related Articles:
NRA Board Members.
An Bord Pleanála Members.
