Vol. 518 No. 1
39 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands the terms of the code of practice drawn up between her Department and the National Roads Authority regarding procedures and practices in relation to archaeological licensees for road projects; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10984/00]
163 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands if proper monitoring of all major road developments will take place in regard to hitherto undiscovered archaeological sites; if full protection of legislation will be given to these sites; and a minimalist approach not adopted in the face of commercial pressures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11216/00]
164 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands if she or any officer of her Department have had meetings with the National Roads Authority to discuss the implications of future road developments on archaeological sites; if there will be no change in the approach of Duchás to discharging its legal responsibilities in dealing with archaeological sites that may be located where major road works are planned; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11217/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 39, 163 and 164 together.
I am introducing measures in a number of areas which will have the effect of streamlining the archaeological approvals process and achieving an effective and efficient level of archaeological mitigation. These comprise a review of the archaeological licensing system, a code of practice with the NRA and other developers, an enhanced role for local authorities in the protection and management of the archaeological heritage and adequate resourcing of the archaeological service at central Government level.
The code of practice between my Department and the National Roads Authority is intended to form the basis of a framework within which that body will be able to progress with its programme of work whilst carrying out appropriate archaeological mitigation having regard to a set of principles and actions agreed by both parties. It is my intention that the code will make provision for appropriate levels of archaeological monitoring on all major road construction projects and that where sites are discovered as a result of such monitoring, they will be investigated in the normal way having regard to the provisions of the National Monuments Acts, 1930-1994, and my published policy and guidelines on archaeological excavations. This involves preliminary investigation to discover the nature and extent of uncovered sites and to carry out further excavation as may be required. There is no question of a minimalist approach being taken to such matters. As I have stated, it is a matter of striking the right balance between badly needed infrastructural development vital to the economic well-being and development of the State and the need to preserve our rich archaeological heritage.
A draft code is being prepared and is the subject of ongoing discussions between the NRA and my officials. I cannot say at this stage what the outcome of these discussions will be but there will not be policy changes which will compromise my overriding responsibilities concerning heritage protection.
I am glad to hear that there will not be a minimalist approach to this. I share the Minister's view that it is important to get the balance between the necessity for economic development through road development and the preservation and proper excavation of as yet undiscovered sites. The Minister received correspondence of 29 March about a situation in County Clare, the Minister's constituency which states the case better than I can.
If an agreement is drawn up between Duchás and the National Roads Authority, will that agreement override the protection given to archaeological monuments? We do not want a situation where, because of political pressure through statements made by the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, the National Roads Authority is forced to bring in contractors from abroad to do these big sections together and literally bulldoze their way through archaeological sites and trained archaeologists who are licensed become reluctant partners in the wilful destruction of archaeological monuments. Will the Minister ensure there will be proper pre-planning in terms of defined road lines? When one considers what happened with the development of a much narrower concept, the Kinsale to Dublin gasline, thousands and thousands of archaeological remains were unearthed in that sense. Archaeological excavations need not hold up major road developments.
I am glad the Minister said there will not be a minimalist approach in the agreement she will draw up between Duchás and the NRA. Will she be able to guarantee that proper pre-planning will take place so that the road development and proper archaeological excavation can proceed together where appropriate?
That would be the purpose of drawing up the code of practice to begin with. We need to see where the problems arise and then not leave it until things are running late but to plan properly and have a strategic approach that will incorporate the balance for which we are all looking. To be helpful to the Deputy, I will outline some of the key elements of the code of practice because that might allay any fears.
There are just four points, one of which is an ongoing partnership and liaison whereby potential difficulties can be flagged in advance and dealt with in a structured way, which answers the question put to me just now by the Deputy. Another is the provision for the archaeological impacts to be made at the earliest possible planning stages of road construction projects to allow proper archaeological mitigation to be taken into account.
Another element involves the recruitment by the NRA of its own in-house archaeological expertise which will advise the NRA on all archaeological aspects including cost control which is a major concern to the NRA and specifically to liaise with Duchás about technical aspects both on the programme in general and relating to specific projects. The last point is that an agreed code of practice could be rolled out to cover other sectors where development has major impacts on archaeology, for example, harbour developments with regard to underwater sites, water service and other public utility requirements and the CIF, including the Irish Home Builder's Association.
I thank the Minister for that clarification. Is she happy that given the extra archaeologists she referred to in answering Deputy O'Shea's question, she will have sufficient staff to deal with as yet undiscovered sites in the road programme planned for the next six years? Is she happy that she will be able to put into effect the aspirations in the code of practice, which I share with her?
That would certainly be the intention. In order to deal with this there will be a need for more archaeologists and I intend to ensure there are more archaeologists in the system to deal with future problems.
That concludes Priority Questions.
