TaraWatch

SAVE NEWGRANGE – PRESS RELEASE – 20 August 2010

‘Critics Invited to Fill out UN Heritage Rights Survey Online During Heritage Week’

To mark the beginning of Heritage Week tomorrow, Save Newgrange and TaraWatch are launching an online survey drive today, asking both critics and supporters for their viewpoints on their heritage rights. The survey was drafted in co-operation with lawyers at the 2048 Project in University of California, Berkeley, and asks people how they feel about their human rights to heritage, particularly with regards to controversial sites like Brú na Bóinne, Carrickmines Castle and the Hill of Tara, and asks whether the legal protections and public consultations in Ireland are adequate.

The results will be sent to the Human Rights Committee in the United Nations, which monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
We are asking the Committee to issue recommendations to the Republic of Ireland concerning its human rights obligations to protect Irish peoples’ rights to family, privacy, judicial remedy, religion, peaceful assembly and freedom of expression in conjunction with ancestral heritage sites. A full range of viewpoints is essential, in order to give an accurate picture of the the factors that have led to the heritage controversies in Ireland, including the recent bulldozing of two ring-forts in Macroom, Co. Cork.

Matt Schwoebel of UC Berkeley said:

“We have been watching dispute after dispute over heritage in Ireland, for the last decade, and want to help prevent such disputes from taking place in the future. We welcome the full range of opinions, in order to better understand the reasons they keep happening, and why people get so entrenched on both sides of the issues.

Vincent Salafia of TaraWatch said:

“It is important that these issues are debated openly during Heritage Week. Anyone can fill out the survey at tarawatch.org. We have written to our critics on the Bypass Slane Campaign Facebook group, and invited them to participate in the survey. Over 10,000 supporters on our own Facebook group have been asked to mobilize online and spread the word about the survey during Heritage Week.

ENDS

CONTACT: Vincent Salafia 087-132-3365

Save Newgrange and TaraWatch, in co-operation with Matt Schwoebel of the 2048 Project at University of California, Berkeley, are launching an online petition drive on Friday, 21st August, to mark the beginning of Heritage Week in Ireland. We are asking people to complete the Irish Heritage Rights Survey, which will be sent to the Human Rights Committee in the United Nations, which monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. If you are concerned that Irish heritage is not getting adequately protected, particularly when it comes to majorly important sites like Bru na Boinne and the Hill of Tara, then please fill out the survey and pass it on to your friends and contacts. for more information please contact Vincent Salafia at info@tarawatch.org – Thank you.

PRESS RELEASE – TARAWATCH – 25 July 2010

‘Irish Heritage Rights Survey Launch to Coincide with Tara UNESCO Nomination’

TaraWatch and Save Newgrange, in conjunction with a University of California, Berkeley, human rights lawyer, Matt Schwoebel, are launching a heritage rights survey online tomorrow.

The launch will coincide with the opening of the 34th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which opens in Brazil today.

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The Managers Report on submissions made to the public consultation for the Draft Tara Skryne Landscape Conservation Area has been published.  A total of 321 submissions were received. The Plan is being vigorously opposed by Fianna Fail and Fine Gael county councillors, such as Mary Wallace, TD; Thomas Byrne, T.D; and Cllr Nick Killian. The TaraWatch submission was summarised by the Manager as follows:

This submission is made by Vincent Salafia, on behalf of NGO, Tara Watch. It is stated that TaraWatch support the Tara Skryne Landscape Conservation Area and requests that the planning authority to implement the Draft Plan in its current form. It is submitted that the proposed area accurately reflects the area of the cultural and natural landscape, directly associated with the Hill of Tara and the Hill of Skryne. It is considered that the planning restrictions are absolutely necessary to achieve proper planning and sustainable development of the area. It is stated that Meath County has acted in bad faith by developing the M3 in its current route and is under a legal duty to mitigate the damage to the Tara Skryne Landscape by the M3 motorway. It is put forward that given the fact that the Hill of Tara was placed on  the World Monuments Fund – 100 Most Endangered Sites List in 2006 is compelling evidence that it deserves to be given protection as a LCA. It is submitted that the effects of the LCA are similar to those of a UNESCO designation and that if the council refuses to implement the proposed plan, then it is essentially opposing the UNESCO designation of the same area. A copy of the formal nomination form for UNESCO designation is contained in the submission.

TV3 News – M3 motorway opens in Meath
RTE News – Controversial M3 opens ahead of schedule
Irish Times – M3 motorway officially opens
Irish Examiner – Tóibín attacks construction of ‘shameful’ M3
Irish Independent -  Toibin condemns M3 in Co Meath
Press Association, (UK) – Toibin condemns M3 in Co Meath

Meath motorway officially opens

The Irish Times – Breaking News – 4 June 2010

RONAN McGREEVY in Navan

The new M3, the biggest and most controversial road project in the history of the State, was opened this morning. Protesters were kept well back from the ribbon-cutting ceremony which was carried out on a stretch of the motorway between Navan and the Athboy interchange.  The tolled motorway will bypass Dunshaughlin, Kells and Navan, which have been three of the worst bottlenecks in Ireland for decades. Along with 60km of motorway, there will be 35km of side roads, 15km of link roads and a four kilometre N52 bypass of Kells. Security was tight for the opening and it was by invitation-only.

Protesters were allowed no further than the Athboy interchange which is about two kilometres from where the opening took place.  The guests included representatives from the Spanish-based company Ferrovial who were one of the companies involved in the construction. There were also Garda checkpoints at the entrance to the opening ceremony, and a Garda helicopter monitored the movement of protesters from above. The M3 which will connect Clonee to near the Cavan-Meath border has been dogged by controversy since it was first proposed in 1997.

Campaigners fought a long and ultimately fruitless battle to stop a section of the motorway being built near the Hill of Tara, but the Government argued that the new motorway was actually further away from the hill than the existing N3. Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey said it was a historic day for a county steeped in history. The Meath TD said the people of Dunshauglin, Navan and Kells will now get their town back and his only regret was that the motorway had not been built sooner.  The chairman of Meath County Council, Cllr William Carey, said he understood that some people were upset that important archaeological remains were disturbed, but he was convinced that the least intrusive route was taken.

Irish writer Colm Tóibín said the desecration of the landscape around Tara was shameful, short-sighted and beyond belief. “In a time when Ireland needs places which have a sacred aura and a special beauty more than ever, it is sad to see those who have misruled our country ganging up on our heritage,” he said.

Vincent Salafia, of TaraWatch, said activists have been completely vindicated in their campaign against the route of this road. “The majority of Irish people, including most of our leading artists, as well as the EU and the major international archaeological bodies, have condemned it.The same reckless disregard for ethics, rights and regulation that brought down the economy, was employed to bulldoze this road through,” he said. The motorway opened to traffic at 4pm today. There are tolls at Dunshaughlin and Clonee and one at Grange between Navan and Kells. The cost will be 1.30 for each toll.

Register on Facebook for Summer Solstice Celebrations on Tara

PRESS RELEASE- TARAWATCH

04 June 2010 ‘

Colm Tóibín Joins Condemnation of M3 Motorway

Leading Irish writers, Colm Tóibín, yesterday condemned the construction of the M3 motorway, through the Hill of Tara landscape and archaeological complex. He has joined the long list of celebrities and artists, including Seamus Heaney, Paul Muldoon, Louis le Brocquy, Jim Fitzpatrick, Robert Ballagh, and the Chieftains, who have condemned the M3 motorway, along with arts group Aosdána. Speaking from Kerry where he is Chairman of the Listowel Writer’s Week Mr. Tóibín said:

“The desecration of the landscape around Tara is shameful, short-sighted and beyond belief. In a time when Ireland needs places which have a sacred aura and a special beauty more than ever, it is sad to see those who have misruled our country ganging up on our heritage.’

His words echo those of Seamus Heaney, who told BBC in March 2008: “If ever there was a place that deserved to be preserved in the name of the dead generations from pre-historic times up to historic times up to completely recently – it was Tara.” He called the M3 a “ruthless desecration”, and said: “I think it literally desecrates an area – I mean the word means to de-sacralise and for centuries the Tara landscape and the Tara sites have been regarded as part of the sacred ground.”

While the M3 motorway is opening today, the controversy will continue for years to come:

- The European Commission is currently taking a case against Ireland, in the European Court of Justice, for breach of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive, due to the decision of Dick Roche to demolish the Lismullin national monument, in Tara.

- Tara is being nominated to UNESCO to be a World Heritage Site, this July. Professor George Eogan, Professor Emeritus of Archaeology at UCD has said it is likely that UNESCO will not be pleased that a motorway has been just opened in the middle of the very site they are being asked to protect.

- Tara was placed on the List of 100 Most Endangered Sites by the World Monuments Fund (WMF) in 2006, and other international organisations, such as the Smithsonian Institution, the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), Sacred Sites International, and the World Archaeological Congress (WAC).

- The Heritage Council is piloting the Tara Skryne Landscape Conservation Area, which covers a large area around Tara, and will place planning restrictions on both sides of the motorway. which are being challenged by local Fianna Fail councillors. Public consultation ends Wed 16 June.

- Finally, a human rights complaint is being prepared for the UN, which will detail the the litany of human rights abuses that have facilitated the construction of the M3.

Matt Schwoebel head of the 2048 Project at University of Berkeley law school, California, who was detained by Immigration officials at Dublin Airport and sent back to the US last November, said yesterday: “The human right to heritage sites of particular historical and religious significance is recognized in international law.

“These special places are inextricably connected to how people define themselves as communities and families. “The response by the government and police forces to the concerns of people raised during the protests are also of particular concern, and should be rectified accordingly.” The complaint will be presented to the UN and UNESCO this summer.

Vincent Salafia of TaraWatch said:

“We have been completely vindicated in our campaign against the route of this road. The majority of Irish people, including most of our leading artists, as well as the EU and the major international archaeological bodies, have condemned it.

“The same reckless disregard for ethics, rights and regulation that brought down the economy, was employed to bulldoze this road through.

“The real kicker is yet to come, when traffic levels will show that the taxpayer will start paying millions of euros every year to the toll company, because of traffic fails to meet the traffic guarantee which was secretly written into the M3 contract by the NRA.

ENDS Contact: Vincent Salafia 085-192-7032 / Laura Grealish 087-972-8603

Group critical of M3 traffic use

The Irish Times - Tuesday, June 1, 2010

A group which opposed the construction of the M3 road has said the taxpayer is facing a bill of €1.3 million per annum because insufficient traffic will use the new motorway. The 61 kilometre M3 officially opens on Friday but Tara Watch spokesman Vincent Salafia said revenue from two tolls on the road scheme will not meet income targets. Tara Watch says the NRA through the taxpayer expects to pay Eurolink a minimum of €1.3 million in the first year due to a predicted 3,250 vehicle a day shortfall.

PRESS RELEASE – TARAWATCH

31 May 2010

NRA Expects to Pay Millions in Shadow Tolls to M3 Toll Company from Opening Day

The National Roads Authority (NRA) expects the M3 motorway to lose money, from the very first day of opening, 4 June. Taxpayers will spend millions in ‘shadow tolls’ or direct payments to the Public Private Partner (PPP), Eurolink (SIAC & Ferrovial) due to a confidential ‘˜minimum traffic guarantee’ in the 45 year contract.

According to the NRA’s own figures the M3 will, “on opening”, have traffic volume of “approximately 22,000 vehicles daily”, which is 3,500 vehicles below the NRA’s threshold for shadow tolls of 25,250.  Fred Barry, Chief Executive Officer of the NRA, revealed that the threshold for shadow tolling is 25,250 vehicles a day at a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport on“ 18 November 2009, saying:

“The level of traffic guarantee set out in the PPP contract for the initial year of operation is a combined total for the two plazas of 25,250 vehicles per day. If the traffic levels are 25,000 and the debt level thresholds are contravened, the concessionaire would receive an additional payment of approximately €100,000. If the traffic levels are 35,000 no additional payment arises.”

This means that the NRA expects to pay Eurolink a minimum of €1.3 mil, in the first year of operation, due to the predicted 3,250 vehicle a day shortfall, adding up to approximately €60 mil over the life of the contract. This could rise significantly if traffic levels do not reach 22,000. TaraWatch is predicting that traffic levels will be 10,000 – 15,000, meaning a total cost of approximately €180-240 mil, over the 45 yr life of the contract, based on a number of factors:

1. Current traffic volumes on the existing N3, which will remain open and free, were between approximately 14,000 and 16,000 last year, according to the NRA traffic counter statistics.
2. HGVs will avoid M3 tolls, by using the existing road, as was indicated by the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) in a statement on Wed, 26 May.
3. The M3 will have low cross-border through traffic, as is ends in Virgina, Co. Cavan.
4. Meath has been the hardest hit county in terms of job losses, due to the recession.

Vincent Salafia of TaraWatch said:

“Our campaign has been completely vindicated. Not only is the European Commission taking legal action against Ireland, which could result in massive fines for illegally demolishing national monuments at the Hill of Tara, but the road is an economic black hole for the taxpayer.

“The Government knew the M3 was economically non-viable, which is why they got special permission from the European Commission for shadow tolling, without informing the public.  This is actually triple-taxation, when you add it on top of road tolls and vehicle tax, for a road that completely unnecessary, since it is only 5 miles from the proposed M2.  The NRA has conceded that it is not a matter of ‘if’ the M3 will lose money; it is a question of ‘how much?’.

ENDS
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TaraWatch calls on you to join poets, musicians and revellers at the annual Summer Solstice celebrations on the Hill of Tara, beginning on Sunday, 20 June. Festivities begin at noon and run all through the night, until sunrise on Monday, the 21st.  If you are an artist, and want to participate, please contact us at info@tarawatch.org You can also register for this event on Facebook, receive updates, and help us promote it.

We will have some special guests, including Hope Ebsworth, a leader of the Wangkumarra people in Queensland, Australia. He has written a book and written a book Bury me at Tartulla Hill, and is travelling to Tara to highlight the plight of his people. Wangkumarra land is at the juncture of Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia. Since 2001, Wangkumarra people have received an annual payment of $60,000 in compensation for Santos’ destructive mining and exploration activity on their land. This is a pretty good deal for Santos, who rip half a billion dollars worth of oil and gas out of the land every year.

This years celebration at Tara will be a more sombre affair, as the M3 motorway will have opened on 4 June. However, we will continue to lobby for the protection of Tara, against future developments, and highlight the Government’s ongoing mistreatment of Irish heritage, such as the N2 Slane bypass at Bru na Boinne World Heritage Site.  An information session on the proposed Tara Skryne Landscape Protection Area, and the nomination of the Hill of Tara to be a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Tara is the most beautiful place in Ireland to experience the solstice, so please come and join us.

[click map to enlarge]

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT ACT 2000
NOTICE OF THE PREPARATION
OF A DRAFT LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION AREA
FOR TARA SKRYNE

Notice is hereby given pursuant to Section 204 (4) of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 that Meath County Council has prepared a Draft Landscape Conservation Area for Tara Skryne.

The Draft Landscape Conservation Area comprises of a written statement and a boundary map. A copy of the Draft Landscape Conservation Area will be available for public inspection at the following locations from Tuesday 4th May 2010 to Wednesday 16th June 2010 during normal office hours:
• Planning Office, Abbey Mall, Abbey rd, Navan, Co. Meath;
• Navan Town Council, Watergate St, Navan;
• Navan Library, Railway St, Navan.
• Dunshaughlin Area Office, Drumree rd, Dunshaughlin
• http://www.meath.ie.

Copies of the Draft Landscape Conservation Area are available for purchase from the Planning Planning Department, Abbey Mall, Abbey Rd, Navan, Co. Meath. Please contact Lynda Thornton @ 046-9097566 or lthornton@meathcoco.ie

MAKING A SUBMISSION

Meath County Council hereby invites any interested parties to make submissions in respect of the Draft Landscape Conservation Area to the undersigned before 3.30 pm on Wednesday 16th June 2010. Any submissions or observations so made will be taken into consideration by the Council before the making of the Landscape Conservation Area for Tara Skryne. Submissions or observations in electronic format can be e-mailed to planningsubmissions@meathcoco.ie before 3.30pm on Wednesday 16th June 2010.

Reports and specific instruction are available here

Families face planning curbs under new Tara buffer zone plan

Meath Chronicle – Wednesday 12 May 2010

Proposal described as ‘sop to M3 motorway protestors’

A controversial proposal to throw a large buffer zone around the Tara and Skryne area has led to claims that hundreds of acres of land across central Meath will be sterilised, providing significant obstacles for local residents applying for one-off rural housing permission. One local county councillor has said that generations of local families in an area stretching from Tara and Skryne to Kilmessan, Garlow Cross, Walterstown and Dunsany could be prevented from building homes if the Tara-Skryne Draft Landscape Conservation Plan proposed by Meath County Council, in conjunction with the Department of the Environment and The Heritage Council, is formally adopted by the local authority.

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Seven wonders of Ireland up for UNESCO heritage coup

Irish Daily Mail – 15 April 2010

THEY are among our most popular tourist attractions, and they could be about to become even more iconic. Seven of our finest culture points have been nominated as potential UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Government’s initial list includes Georgian Dublin, Stone Age settlements on the Céide Fields in north-west Mayo, the Burren in Co. Clare, the monastic city of Clonmacnoise, western stone forts including Dun Aongh, usa in Aran, early medieval monastic sites in several locations, including Durrow, Glendalough, and Kells, and the royal sites such as Tara, Cashel, Dún Aillnne, Hill of Uisneach, and the Rathcroghan complex.

Environment Minister, John Gormley, who announced the shortlist, said: “Our heritage properties are our legacy, not just in Ireland but globally.” We already have two UNESCO sites – the Brú na Boinne – Newgrange complex, protected in 1993, and Skellig Michael off Co. Kerry, included in 1996. The North has the Giant’s Causeway in Co. Antrim, which made the list in 1986.  In the Government’s nomination, it states the royal sites, such as Tara in Co. Meath, are ‘unique expressions of Irish society’.

However, the announcement attracted controversy last night. Vincent Salafia, long-term campaigner against the motorway at Tara, said Mr Gormley had delayed the nomination until the motorway was built. “This is the first time the list has been revised. When Ireland signed the convention you are supposed to revise your list every ten years. This list hasn’t been revised since 1992 so Ireland is actually in breach of the convention.  “If it had been done back in 2002, chances are the motorway wouldn’t be up there in Tara now. Only in Ireland would they build a motorway through a site and then ask UNESCO to declare it a world heritage site.”

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