CARRICKMINES CONFLICT EXPOSED

national | miscellaneous | news report Thursday September 26, 2002 16:55 by Graham Caswell caswell at indigo dot ie

Documents ignored in Motorway decision

The National Museum of Ireland says there are "serious shortcomings" with both the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and with the placement of a gas pipeline at Carrickmines. It seems that everal reports on the importance of the site weren't even examined in the EIS. 75% - to 80% of the excavated area will be destroyed on Monday if the government proceeds with its plans to put a possible short delay in the construction of a road ahead of a thosand years of our heritage.

At the bi-annual meeting of the Environmental Co-ordinating Committee of the National Development Plan and Community Structural Funds earlier today, An Taisce has asked for a letter from the National Museum of Ireland about the "serious shortcomings in both the EIS and the monitoring of the gas pipeline" at Carrickmines Castle Complex in County Dublin to be addressed before work begins.

The letter, dated 6 September 2002, was released to the organisation under Freedom of Information Act and was submitted to the 27 members of the Committee this morning.

The Museum examined the matter of the omission of the 1983 Foras Forbatha Report by Paddy Healy from the bibliography of the EIS and state that the "implication would appear to be that the compilers of the EIS not only failed to consult the Foras Forbatha Report, but even failed to consult (or adequate consult) the Site and Monuments [SRM] file for this site".

The letter further states that "The Irish Antiquities Division Archive has included a file on a coin hoard from Carrickmines castle since its acquisition in 1995 which is also omitted from the EIS." The coin hoard, was located east of the road in an area ignored by the EIS. "The question why this vitally important information was not included in the EIS is a serious matter that should be addressed."

Further, the letter, addressed to Dr. David Sweetman, Chief Archaeologist of Dúchas, the Heritage Service from Eammon P. Kelly, the Keeper of Irish Antiquities at National Museum, also addressed the Bord Gais pipeline laid across the site recently.

The letter states that the gas pipeline at Carrickmines "cut across the defences at Carrickmines castle (including the stone revetted fosse) in at least four separate locations, and also cut through the interior of the castle over a total distance of approximately 150 meters". The letter states: "Yet the report on the monitoring makes no reference to these features and does not record so much as a single shard of pottery from the site (a prehistoric deposit of heat shattered stone was noted some distance from the castle site). Given what we know about the wealth of archaeological at these sites, these results do not seem credible."

Indeed, the letter concludes, "in view if the evidence of serious shortcomings in both the EIS and the monitoring of the gas pipeline, questions may also need to be asked about the State's regulating and monitoring such activities."

A spokesman for An Taisce stated that "The archaeological find at Carrickmines are the property of the State and their destruction is a criminal offence. "But the licence holders must not be scapegoated. The investigations must centre on the National Roads Authority archaeologists, the two consulting companies involved, and the National Monuments Section of Dúchas, Minister Cullen's Heritage Service.

We are calling on Ministers Brennan and Cullen to suspend all work on the motorway until the questions raised by the National Museum as to the competence of the State archaeological controls have been satisfactorily addressed.

The organisation added that 35% of the site remains unexcavated and 75% - to 80% of the excavated area will be destroyed on Monday morning unless the Government moves to addresses this issue.