Vol. 572 No. 5
15 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government if he has satisfied himself that he can adjudicate on an issue regarding Carrickmines Castle (details supplied) given that heritage functions now fall within the remit of his Department. [23639/03]
I am satisfied that I was in a proper position to make a determination under the National Monuments Acts on the application by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for a joint consent and approval under section 14 of the National Monuments Act 1930, as amended. My decision was based on the overall assessment that the public interest, in allowing construction of the south-eastern motorway along its approved route, justified consenting to and approving of the works impacting on archaeology at Carrickmines, subject to appropriate conditions.
It had also, in my view, been satisfactorily demonstrated that a systematic approach has been adopted by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to the archaeological resolution of the Carrickmines site, involving a major commitment of resources, and that this, subject to the further archaeological work to be completed, will preserve the main archaeological elements of the site either by record or in situ.The order and joint consent were laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas on 3 July 2003, in accordance with the provisions of the Act, and may be annulled by order within 21 sitting days.
