THE ENVIRONMENT: While developers trampled on our historic sites, the
Government did little to stop them, writes Frank McDonald, Environment
Editor
The State's purchase of Durrow Abbey in Co Offaly earlier this month
was obviously designed to demonstrate the Government's commitment to
preserving Ireland's heritage. But it may be seen as no more than a
gesture in the context of continuing losses right across the board.
From Lissadell to Slane Castle, from Carrickmines to the Hill of Tara,
major elements of our heritage are under threat of destruction or, at
least, of having their context seriously compromised. And there is no
State agency with the required level of independence to do anything
about it.
Dúchas was never capable of acting on its own, and now that it has been
absorbed into the restyled Department of the Environment, Heritage and
Local Government, it has even less freedom of action - certainly
nothing to compare with the clout of, say, English Heritage.
Though its name still appears on signage at numerous sites throughout
the State, Dúchas is gone, ostensibly with the objective of
streamlining heritage protection - or, more likely, in the interest of
making sure that nothing gets in the way of "development", however
wrong-headed.
Take the case of Trim Castle, in Co Meath. Though it is Ireland's most
important Norman fortification, the Minister for the Environment,
Martin Cullen, would not permit his heritage officials to appeal to An
Bord Pleanála against plans for a four-storey hotel directly opposite
the castle. The Heritage Service had expressed serious concerns about
the "adverse and unacceptable" impact of the proposed development,
saying that its scale and bulk was "inappropriate in this
highly-sensitive location". Even with a revised design, the scheme was
still seen as unacceptable.
An appeal was lodged by a native of Trim, who also happened to be a
senior inspector with An Bord Pleanála, and was subsequently withdrawn
lest it might cast any doubt on the impartiality of the board. As a
result, the hotel now has full planning permission and can now go
ahead.
Europa Nostra, which had been given an award for the restoration of
Trim Castle, also felt that the hotel would compromise its setting, but
by the time its objection was submitted, the appeal had already been
withdrawn. A threat by a local independent councillor to seek a
judicial review also failed to materialise. Even more controversial has
been the case of Carrickmines Castle in south Co Dublin. According to a
draft report for the European Commission, it has become "the cause
célèbre of Irish archaeology" due to the proposed destruction of a
major archaeological site to make way for the last leg of the M50.
As it noted, the true significance of the site emerged too late to
allow for a measured approach to preservation, "and yet this has
happened in a country with a mature archaeological profession, a
Government and road authority fully aware of the needs of archaeology
and committed to proper treatment of sites". Among the report's most
damning findings were that Dúchas "was more concerned about the road
construction programme than its archaeology", that the environmental
impact statement was defective on "some points of vital importance",
and that no serious effort was made to change the road scheme.
Yet the proposed South Eastern Motorway - which is likely to be the
most expensive road scheme in the State's history, mainly due to land
acquisition rather than delays caused by the Carrickmines saga - is set
to go ahead because the European Commission, which is partly funding
it, will not intervene.
An Bord Pleanála certainly didn't stand in the way of the National
Roads Authority's audacious plan to replace the existing N3, between
Clonee and Kells, Co Meath, with a completely new motorway, at the
staggering cost of €680 million. It simply rubber-stamped the scheme,
it seems, without examining alternatives.
Though the M3 corridor contains 141 archaeological sites and is located
just 1km from the Hill of Tara, the board specified no conditions
relating to the treatment of these sites. Neither did it look into
whether there was any justification for the motorway which, like all
the others, will feed into the M50.
The Minister for Transport, Séamus Brennan, might have been expected to
carry out a major review of the motorway programme in the light of
figures showing it could cost as much as €21 billion and of fears that
it will simply reinforce the dominance of Dublin. But he has chosen not
to do so.
Approval for the M3 came three months after it was announced the
Heritage Service and Meath County Council had hired consultants to draw
up a management plan for the Hill of Tara, once the seat of the high
kings of Ireland. But it will merely focus on the State's 100-acre
holding.
Another management plan, this time for Clonmacnoise, was unveiled in
October, with the headline-grabbing announcement by Martin Cullen that
World Heritage Site status was being sought for the monastery founded
by St Ciarán on the banks of the River Shannon in the sixth century.
Ireland has only three designated World Heritage Sites - Brú na
mBóinne, in the Boyne Valley; Skellig Michael, off the coast of Kerry,
and the Giant's Causeway, in north Antrim. And up there, too, there has
been controversy over plans to intensify tourism-related development in
the area.
Clare County Council wants to do the same by building a new visitor
centre at the Cliffs of Moher, and has even used this €25 million
project as an excuse for expensive junkets to Portugal and Australia.
But it now seems unlikely the debt-ridden council will be able to
afford it.
The Government had an opportunity to acquire the remaining contents of
Lissadell House in Co Sligo, but declined to get involved - even though
its purchase by barristers Constance Cassidy and Edward Walsh, who are
committed to keeping it open, had saved the State some €25 million.
Meanwhile, the conservation officer of Dublin City Council has taken a
six-month sabbatical and is not being replaced during that time. Thus,
there is nobody to advise the council's already overstretched planners
on applications affecting any of the city's 9,000-plus protected
structures.
Limerick City Council has already lost its conservation officer, while
the contracts for others in Co Limerick and Co Leitrim are not being
renewed. According to Peter Cox, of ICOMOS (International Council on
Monuments and Sites) Ireland, these glaring gaps show that the
Government has "no commitment to the protection of our heritage".