I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. Some decades ago I was on holiday in Bolgheri, on the west coast of Italy. One evening we were talking to some of the locals, who told us they had just averted a national catastrophe. Naturally, we were eager to hear about this. They pointed to a lovely avenue of cypresses going up into the hills. The Minister may know the splendid avenues of cypresses one sees all over Italy. This one was about 2 km long and the people had prevented it from being cut down.
Bolgheri is located on the west coast of Italy on the Laverno-Roma motorway. The motorway was being built at that time by the Italians who, like their ancestors, the Romans, are tremendous road builders. When they came near Bolgheri, the denizens of Bolgheri looked at their plans and objected because the intention was to go through the avenue of cypresses. The engineers said they had to go through other cypresses on previous occasions but they were told that these were the cypresses Dante wrote about in the poem every Italian school child has to learn. The Italians, who have some respect for national monuments, decided this avenue of cypresses was a national monument of cultural importance, so the builders went around them. If one looked at that motorway now, one would never know, thanks to the skill of the engineers, that any sort of diversion had to be made. It is an example of how a motorway can be constructed while preserving a national monument.
The opposite is about to be done with Carrickmines Castle. Apparently no amount of appeals to the Minister will make him change his mind on the path of the M50 motorway. What is sad about this situation, with his efforts before the Oireachtas to annul the Supreme Court judgment, is that he is acting as judge and jury in his own case. There is an old legal saying that one cannot act as judge and jury in one's own case – nemo iudex in causa sua. He is acting in this way because as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government he is responsible for national monuments. He must have decided it was a national monument as he intends to have it knocked down under a section of the National Monuments Act. At the same time, in his capacity as Minister with overall responsibility for the road network, he is consenting to what is being done on the basis that it is necessary. He says he is acting in the national interest but there is nothing in the national monuments plan which states one can demolish, destroy or devastate anything in the national interest. I do not understand why he decided to do that. Legally, national monuments can only be damaged where it furthers the interests of archaeology in that area.
The Minister is acting in the most extraordinary way because, as in the case of the motorway in Italy, he is relying on funds from the European Union to construct this motorway in south Dublin. I understand that of the €140 million to be spent, at least €80 million will come from the European Union. The European Union petitions committee has been informed, it has registered its concern and its members have come here to investigate. The Minister should at least wait until they have adjudicated on the matter because it has always been made explicit that any EU funding is conditional on a proper environmental impact study being carried out. The Minister of State may recall that in the Supreme Court appeal, Mr. Justice Hardiman said he felt that the environmental impact study was deficient. He also said that he was treating Carrickmines Castle as a national monument. What would happen if the European Union withholds these funds because we have demolished a national monument?
This order should be annulled because modification of the route is possible. It is interesting that other areas of the motorway can be modified if they are considered to cause practical problems. An example is the Red Cow roundabout, now rightly referred to as the mad cow roundabout because the situation there is so chaotic. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Brennan, who is not happy about what is happening at Carrickmines, has said that if the Luas light rail system causes more congestion at the Red Cow junction, a flyover can be built at a cost of €11 million. More money can be found for an area in which traffic congestion has to be dealt with but it cannot be found to deal with national monuments.
This monument is important because it comprises a very large site. I am sure the Minister saw an article in The Irish Times today in which the chief archaeologist on the site, Dr. Mark Clinton, expressed his anger at a culture of greed and ineptitude that is destroying a priceless national monument. I am sure the Minister knows all about the history of the place, which was built in the 13th century by the Anglo-Norman Walshes to repel the O'Tooles and the O'Byrnes. I am sure they were right; they should have stayed in Wicklow. There is a long history to this place, including its important role as a fortification along the Pale. If money can be found to do something with the Red Cow roundabout, why can it not be found to do something with this extraordinarily important place? We bitterly regretted what happened at Wood Quay because it was such an important attraction, not just for ourselves but for tourists. This is a unique site which cannot be replaced and which, apparently, the Minister believes he is entitled to dispose, even in the absence of the adjudication by members of the EU petitions committee who are examining the project. The Minister is acting as a judge in his own case, which is improper. I hope the Minister of State has a sympathetic response to this matter.
