TaraWatch

Protesters clash with security workers at the M3 motorway site at Rath Lugh in Co Meath in 2008. Photograph: PA

Expulsion of US lawyer to be investigated
The Irish Times – Monday, January 4, 2010

THE GARDA Ombudsman is to investigate a complaint by environmental group Tarawatch about the detention and repatriation of an American human rights lawyer.   Matt Schwoebel (27), lawyer and programme director of 2048 Project, a human rights project at Berkeley Law School at the University of California, arrived in Dublin on November 23rd.  Mr Schwoebel had been invited to Ireland by Tarawatch to take statements from protesters who had objected to the construction of the M3 motorway close to the Hill of Tara. He was to advise the group on its appeal to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the treatment of the objectors.  He had also intended to investigate the Garda’s role in monitoring the actions of Tara campaigners. He was stopped by the Garda National Immigration Bureau and questioned about his trip and then told he could not enter the State. The reason given was he had insufficient funds. Mr Schwoebel said he gave gardaí the website of the Tarawatch campaign so they could contact spokesman Vincent Salafia to validate he was staying with him. He also said he had $100 in cash with him and a Visa card with several thousand dollars in his account.

“I offered to take out $1,000 before I left the airport,” he said. He described his dealings with gardaí as hostile from the beginning and said he believed gardaí did not attempt to contact Mr Salafia to verify his story. He was then put on a flight back to San Francisco.  Mr Salafia made an official complaint about the incident on behalf of Mr Schwoebel to the Garda Ombudsman. In a letter seen by The Irish Times , the Ombudsman’s office said it was appropriate to refer the complaint to the Garda Commissioner.  “The Ombudsman has decided the complaint should be investigated by a Garda investigating officer supervised by the Garda Ombudsman,” the letter said.  Mr Salafia said he believed Mr Schwoebel had sufficient funds to support himself in Ireland and was denied entry because of his intention to carry out legal work for Tarawatch.  He said he hoped the matter would be resolved as quickly as possible so that Mr Schwoebel could return to Ireland to carry out his work.

- FIONA GARTLAND

WRITE TO: lettersed@irishtimes.com

Tara rights lawyer is deported back to US

Mail on Sunday – 29 November 2009
By Neil Michael, Chief Reporter

A LAWYER from the prestigious University of California, Berkeley, has been deported back to the US as he attempted to enter Ireland to investigate allegations of human rights abuses by the Government.  Matt Schwoebel wanted to take statements from protesters objecting to the construction of the M3 motorway through the Hill of Tara. He is drafting a complaint to the UN Commission on Human Rights about the way the government has handled objections and treated those who made them.

When he arrived at Dublin Airport, officers from the Garda National Immigration Bureau informed him he would not be allowed into the country. They told him he might have to stay in a detention centre until his flight home could be booked. Mr Schwoebel claims that before the decision was taken to reject him, he was questioned about where he was going in the country and who he was staying with. The 27-year-old lawyer – who is an American citizen – told them he was going to be staying with a leading anti-M3 Motorway campaigner, Tara Watch’s Vincent Salafia. Shortly afterwards, he was informed he would not be allowed into the country – where he had only planned to stay a week.

He told the Mail on Sunday: “I am not happy with the way I was treated and intend to lodge a formal complaint against the Gardai. I was accused of not having enough funds, despite having several thousands in my debit account and more in credit cards.  I also had people to stay with and vouch for me but this was also not enough. It became pretty clear to me that they just did not want to let me into the country.”

According to the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, ‘leave to land’ – the phrase which applies to being let pass through immigration control on arrival in an airport – upon arrival in the State is ‘subject to immigration controls on the ground’. As a US citizen, Mr Schwoebel did not need a visa to gain entry.  But anyone arriving in the country must be ‘able to satisfy an immigration officer that they have sufficient funds to support themselves during their visit’. Exactly how much cash visitors need to have is not stipulated anywhere on Irish government websites. Nor are there any guidelines which state that credit and debit cards do not count as means of self support.

Mr Schwoebel, who is based at California’s human rights group 2048, arrived in Dublin from San Francisco via Chicago at 8.35am last Monday. He had with him $100 cash, an address to stay in Dublin, cousins and a grandmother living in Ireland, and a staff job with the University of California. After staying in Ireland for a week, he was planning to head to Geneva, where he was due to work with a number of UN officials on organising a human rights conference at the start of December.

When has was asked about where he was going to stay, he mentioned Mr Salafia – a lecturer in environmental legislation at Queen’s University Belfast who lives in south Dublin. He also gave the gardai Mr Salafia’s mobile number and said that he could vouch for him as he was staying with him. Despite saying they would call him, Mr Salafia said last night he did not receive a call from any member of the Garda National Immigration Bureau.

Mr Salafia said last night: ‘”I am ashamed that such an eminent guest was so horrendously treated. Despite offering to withdraw €900 from his own account at an ATM machine – and having the funds to do so – Mr Schwoebel was told not to bother. When he was informed of the decision to block his entry into the country, he offered to buy his own return ticket back to the US but this was rejected. Instead the cost of the flight was picked up by the Irish tax-payer. ‘I had the funds to do so – as in deed I had the funds to support my brief stay in Ireland.’

WRITE TO letters@mailonsunday.ie

Aerial photograph of human harp on Tara, 2007

Dear TaraWatch supporters,

Thank you for continuing to support the campaign to save the Hill of Tara from the M3 motorway in Ireland. A lot has happened recently, and we need your help, to keep the voice of opposition to the desecration of Tara alive.  As you know, the Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, was supposed to submit Tara to UNESCO at the Seville World Heritage Committee meeting in June. This did not occur, but the Minister issued a statement on the matter yesterday, stating he will do it by the end of the year.  The Minister also announced the Tara Skryne Landscape conservation programme. However, it still does not even define the area to be protected. It will have no statutory basis, and it quite clearly going to have a motorway going through the middle of it.

Coincidentally, the European Court of Justice is currently hearing arguments in the case being brought against Ireland by the European Commission, over the demolition of the Lismullin National Monument near Tara in 2007, which was discovered in the pathway of the M3 during excavations.

Letter-writing campaign

Two key newspaper articles were published today, and we are asking you to write letters to the editors, referencing the articles and making objections to Minister Gormley’s actions. TaraWatch is seeking a right of reply, and we hope to reinforce that with your letters.  Here are the letters and below is a press release we sent out in response to the Ministers statement. Please also send copies of letters directly to the Minister for the Environment at minister@environ.ie

New rules to protect Tara area

The Irish Times - Saturday, July 18, 2009 – By Olivia Kelly

NEW PROTECTIONS for the Tara-Skryne Valley, which would prevent the construction of retail parks and superstores along the route of the M3, have been announced by Minister for the Environment John Gormley.  Mr Gormley said he could not prevent the construction of the motorway near the Hill of Tara, which continues to be the subject of protests by environmental and heritage groups, but he could protect the landscape to prevent inappropriate development.

In conjunction with Meath County Council, Mr Gormley proposed to designate the Tara-Skryne Valley a Special Conservation Area. This would protect the archeological and historic landscape and make it difficult for any construction to take place within the zone. However, Mr Gormley said it would in particular stop the type of large-scale development, such as shopping centres, or retail parks, which have been built along motorways in the past.

“This will ensure that the very negative sort of development associated with motorways will not impinge on the area . . . the sort of motorway development we’ve seen in the past, the BQs, that would not be acceptable.”  The plans for the designation, which has been allocated €50,000 funding from the Department of the Environment and the Heritage Council, will have to be submitted for public consultation and agreed by Meath county councillors before the designation is confirmed. It is likely that the protection will be in place by the middle of next year. Mr Gormley said he also intended to increase the protection for national monuments in the new National Monument’s Act, which is currently at draft stage.

WRITE TO lettersed@irishtimes.com

Shops and malls to be banned at historic Tara site

Irish Independent – Saturday July 18 2009 – By Paul Melia

MAJOR developments including shopping centres and retail parks will not be allowed to be built off the controversial M3 motorway near the Hill of Tara. The Tara Skryne Valley, one of the most archaeologically rich areas in the country, will be officially designated as a Landscape Conservation Area, which will ban major developments and ensure the landscape is left intact, Environment Minister John Gormley announced yesterday. And he said he was fully committed to nominating the Hill of Tara as a UNESCO World Heritage site when Ireland draws up its shortlist of sites at the end of the year. He added that a new National Monuments Act would mean that road developments would not take place in areas rich with archaeology.

“I am pleased to announce details in relation to a proposed new landscape management project which has been initiated to establish a Landscape Conservation Area in the Tara-Skryne area,” he said. “The new landscape conservation zone for Tara Skryne will protect the area from development damage . . . This is the first landscape conservation area ever. We have to learn lessons from the past, there’s no question mistakes have been made and mistakes must be rectified.”

The National Monuments Act will also see a single Register of Monuments established instead of historic monuments being recorded on a number of lists, and improved recognition of and protection for archaeology under planning legislation.  Chairman of the Heritage Council, Conor Newman, added that the legislation would close “serious weaknesses” in the law. “For those of us who spent years trying to protect Tara, the work (M3) exposed serious weaknesses in our legislation,” he said. “Protecting the landscape is something we want to see. No one wants to freeze the landscape, just manage change.” The landscape conservation area status will be made next year when the exact zone of protection will be identified.

WRITE TO independent.letters@unison.ie

TARAWATCH USA

The TaraWatch USA Facebook group already has 2,000 members, after only one week.  It is a part of the global Save Tara campaign, being operated by on Facebook by TaraWatch, which has over 13,000 members.

The aim of the group is to hold a demonstration outside the UN building in New York Sity, and to submit a petition to the UN, asking for intervention on the Tara issue.

The proposal is to take an aerial photograph of a couple of thousand people in front of the building, wearing green or spelling a slogan, such as was done at Tara in 2007 with the human harp.

The date of the event is not confirmed, but we are aiming to do it during Heritage Week in Ireland, part of European Heritage Days, 22nd to the 30th of August 2009.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT

info@tarawatch.org

http://www.tarawatch.org
http://www.hilloftara.info

+353-87-132-3365

EU’s highest court upholds complaints against Ireland

Friday, July 17, 2009 – The Irish Times

JAMIE SMYTH in Brussels

THE GOVERNMENT has broken EU law by failing to conduct environmental impact assessments before allowing work to start on private road projects.  The European Union’s highest court has also ruled that the Irish public is being denied its right under EU law to appeal against developments that could have a significant effect on the environment without facing prohibitive legal costs.  In a judgment yesterday, the European Court of Justice said the practice whereby Irish courts could choose to waive legal costs for an unsuccessful party appealing on environmental grounds did not conform to European law. The court said it “is merely a discretionary practice on the part of the courts” and could not be regarded as “valid implementation of the obligations arising from” EU directives dating from 1985 and 2003.

The EU directives set out that the procedures established by governments for appealing projects on the basis that they may have a significant effect on the environment should not be “prohibitively expensive”. They form part of a series of EU laws passed over the past three decades aimed at giving the public more rights to participate in the planning project for developments.  The ruling from the European Court of Justice could prompt a major reform of Irish law regarding the financing of planning appeals on environmental grounds.

A spokesman for Minister for the Environment John Gormley said he welcomed the clarification given by the court.
“It is a complex judgment that relates to agencies and bodies outside the Department of the Environment,” Mr Gormley said. “We will engage proactively with the Attorney General and other State agencies to see how best we can implement the judgment.”

The Government said the first part of the judgment, related to not conducting environmental impact assessments before work began on private road projects, had been addressed by the Government. It has also pledged to try to address a third complaint upheld by the European Court of Justice against a lack of public participation in the planning consent processes handled by agencies such as the Office of Public Works and the Department of Agriculture. The court found that there were not adequate opportunities for the public to appeal certain types of projects handled by these departments. It found this was contrary to EU law. However, the European Commission, which took the case against Ireland, was not successful in arguing several other points where it felt the Government had not properly transposed EU directives into national law. For this reason the court ruled that the commission and the Government should bear their own costs in the case.

Read judgment below

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PRESS RELEASE – TARAWATCH – 7 July 2009

‘Complaint Over Hill of Tara and M3 Motorway Submitted to UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon’

TaraWatch has submitted a complaint to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, on the day of his visit to Dublin, concerning the Hill of Tara and the M3 motorway. It has been sent to him and various relevant UN agencies, including UNESCO, the Secretariat, the UN High Commission on Human Rights, the UN Global Compact, and the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

The complaint petitions the UN to intervene in the controversy and initiate a problem-solving initiative, while the European Court of Justice considers if Ireland is in breach of EU law, in the case currently being argued by the European Commission against Ireland, and until the Minister for the Environment John Gormley completes his nomination of the Hill of Tara to UNESCO.

Breaches of various UN laws, which Ireland has ratified, are cited in the complaint, including:

-    Charter of the United Nations
-    UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage
-    UNESCO Constitution
-    Universal Declaration of Human Rights
-    International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
-    International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
-    International Convention on the Rights of the Child
-    Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity
-    United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
-    Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
-    UN Global Compact
-    United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

The complaint has been given to the Labour Party and Sinn Fein, who will be attending meetings with the Secretary-General today, in the hope it will be hand-delivered to him.  Arthur Morgan, TD, will be attending the lunch today for the General-Secretary, hosted by Taoiseach, Brian Cowen. Michael D. Higgins, TD, and Senator Dominick Hannigan will be attending the meeting of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs today, which the Secretary-General will attend.

TaraWatch spokesperson, Vincent Salafia, said:

“We have petitioned the Secretary-General to intervene and initiate a problem-solving initiative in order to prevent further destruction of the Tara landscape, as well as breaches of EU and UN law.

“Works at Tara should cease until the European Court of Justice decides the case currently being brought against Ireland by the European Commission.

“UNESCO should intervene now that the Minister for the Environment has begun the nomination of Tara to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

ENDS

Contact, Vincent Salafia 087-132-3365

DOWNLOAD UN COMPLAINT

VIEW COMPLAINT:

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“Tarawatch yesterday presented a new complaint about the M3 motorway-plan developments, close to the Hill of Tara, Co Meath, to representatives of the EU Commission in Dublin.  The new complaint argues that proposals for an electricity interconnector, the M3 motorway and the Navan railway line, are “disjointed developments”. The complaint states that their impact should have been considered together, under the EU’s Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive.  Tarawatch was one of a number of non-governmental organisations which met a group of three commission officials in the Custom House. Other groups represented included those associated with the Corrib gas pipeline and the 2003 Derrybrien landslide in Co Galway.”

The Irish Times – 20 June 2009

PRESS RELEASE – TARAWATCH.org – 19 June 2009

‘New Complaint to European Commission Delegation Concerning Hill of Tara‘

TaraWatch will meeting a delegation from the European Commission this morning in the Custom House, along with other Irish environmental NGOs, from 11.00 am to 1.00pm. The Commission is investigating how Ireland can better implement EU environmental law.

TaraWatch will present a new complaint to the Commission, concerning the proposed Hill of Tara UNESCO World Heritage Site, and alleges that disjointed developments in County Meath are a breach of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Directive. It is currently planned for the site to be traversed by:

- the M3 motorway
- the Navan to Dublin railway line, Phase 2 preferred route
- the North-South Electical Connector

Vincent Salafia of TaraWatch said;

“The planning in Meath is simply archaic, and it is ridiculous that three different project are going through a potential World Heritage Site.  All three routes, for road, rail and power could and should be be combined into one, which would save a lot of money, and also protect the Tara site.  We are asking the Commission to participate in problem-solving initiative to correct the breaches of EU law in County Meath.

ENDS

Contact – Vincent Salafia 087-132-3365 / info@tarawatch.org

DOWNLOAD EU COMPLAINT

Archaeologists on the National Monument Discovery at the M3 Lismullin site. Alan Betson/Irish Times

Irish Times – Breaking News: New High Court action over Tara ruins
Breakingnews.ie: Activists make court bid to stop M3 (audio)
Press Association: Fresh bid to stop motorway
Daily Mail: High Court challenge to Gormley on M3 site
Irish Examiner: High Court action seeks to protect site near Tara

High Court action seeks to protect site near Tara
Irish Examiner – 06 February 2008
By Dan Buckley

A HIGH COURT action was launched yesterday aimed at protecting the Lismullin national monument near Tara. The action is being taken by Gordon Lucas, who is seeking to enforce EU directives on national monuments.
He is seeking an injunction and a declaration that the National Monuments Act 2004 is in breach of EU law.  Lismullin was declared one of the top 10 most important archaeological discoveries in 2007 by Archaeology magazine, published by the Archaeological Institute of America. The Hill of Tara has also been placed on the 2008 list of 100 most endangered sites by the World Monuments Fund.

Last year, archaeologists working on the route of the motorway stumbled on a vast Iron Age ceremonial enclosure, or henge, surrounded by two walls. The 2,000-year-old site is about 2km from the Hill of Tara. The discovery of the henge, measuring about 260ft in diameter, confirmed the long-held belief that the area contains a rich complex of monuments. The extent of archaeological remains on the Hill of Tara — burial mounds, religious enclosures, stone structures, and rock art dating from the third millennium BC to the 12th century AD — makes it Ireland’s most spiritually and archaeologically significant site.

Lismullin and other sites that stand in the way of the new motorway are now approved for destruction. Although archaeologists are rallying support worldwide for the protection of the Hill of Tara, the iconic site remains in great peril, according to the lobbying group Tara Watch. The European Commission has initiated legal action against the Government over the M3, charging Ireland with failing to protect its own heritage.

A Red C opinion poll has found that almost two-thirds (62%) of Irish adults agree that the current format set down for the M3 is wrong, and that alternatives should be found to protect the heritage sites. More than half (58%) support a proposed heritage park solution, while 31% agree they would prefer to keep the M3 running through the valley as already agreed.

Vincent Salafia of protest group TaraWatch said: “This is a parallel case to the case being taken against Ireland by the European Commission, which states the Irish government is in breach of EU law. Work should cease immediately within the Tara archaeological complex, until this matter is resolved. “It is ironic that the Irish government is pushing its citizens to adopt the Lisbon Treaty, while they flatly refuse to obey current EU law with regards to protection of the environment and the national monument at Lismullin,” said Mr Salafia.

High Court challenge to Gormley on M3 site
Irish Daily Mail – 6 February 2008
by Paul Caffrey

ENVIRONMENT Minister John Gormley faces a potentially embarrassing High Court challenge over a decision made by his predecessor to allow the M3 motorway to be built over an historic site near the Hill of Tara. The Green TD claimed when he came to office last June that he was powerless to over-turn a last-minute order made by outgoing Environment Minister Dick Roche for 2,000 year old ruins discovered last year near the Hill of Tara to be destroyed to make way for the M3.

The civil suit is being taken by one Gordon Lucas a resident of Limerick, who is seeking to enforce EU Environmental Assessment directives and the European Convention on Human Rights. Mr Lucas, who filed his Statement of Claim with with court officials yesterday, is seeking an injunction and a declaration that the National
Monuments Act 2004 is in breach of EU law. He is taking his case against the Environment Minister, the National Roads Authority, the State and the Attorney General.

Last night, opposition politicians and environmental campaigners said the High Court action signals fresh embarrassment for Mr Gormley, and only highlights his failure to stand by his priniciples sinec entering Government with Fianna Fail. In a turbulent first day in office last June, Mr Gormley declared he had no authority to revoke his predecessor’s order, despite his commitment to protecting heritage.

But Labour’s Eamon Gilmore claimed the Minister could reverse the decision, citing section 22 of the Interpretation Act 2005. Fine Gael’s Fergus O’Dowd made the damning charge against the Green Party chairman back then that the reason he had not done it was because he was politically emasculated by his new Fianna Fail masters. Former Environment Minister Dick Roche signed an order last year which allowed the archaeological site to be studied and then destroyed to make way for the motorway. Last night, Fine Gael TD Fergus O’Dowd launched a stonging attack on Mr Gormley, saying that his ‘credibility is zero at this stage’. and that he ‘stands for nothing’.

Campaign group TaraWatch, which is demanding that the site be preserved says the case is being taken as a last resort, after the Government opted not to perform a new environmental impact assessment on the proposed demolition of the Lismullin national monument.

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Irish Times: Cases against ten Tara protesters adjourned
Irish Independent: EU threatens huge fines if Tara M3 work is not halted
Belfast Telegraph: Government set to defend Tara decision

The Irish Times
Thur, 6 Sept 2007

Jamie Smyth In Brussels

The EU will decide next month whether to refer Ireland to Europe’s highest court over the demolition of a national monument at Lismullin, Co Meath, to make way for the M3 motorway.

The European Commission confirmed yesterday it had received the Government’s reply to concerns, which the commission raised over the excavation of the Lismullin monument in June. It said it would study the letter before making a decision in October on whether to begin legal proceedings at the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

The commission issued a “reasoned opinion” to Ireland last June accusing it of breaking EU law by not carry out a second environmental impact assessment (EIA) on the Lismullin site following the discovery of archaeological remains.

Under the National Monuments Act, an EIA is required before the start of a project, but it is not necessary to carry out further EIAs in relation to any archaeological remains found.

The commission argues that this amounts to a loophole in Irish law and does not adequately protect sites of archaeological significance.

The Government’s reply to the commission focuses on whether the National Monuments Act and its actions at Lismullin comply with European law.

It also contains a separate section dealing with the fragility of the archaeological remains at Lismullin.

It argues that excavation work had to be carried out immediately on the national monument because of the instability and fragility of the immediate environment.

It is understood that the commission is unlikely to seek an ECJ injunction to halt excavation work at Lismullin because of the fragility of the site.

But EU officials confirmed that they are considering referring Ireland to the ECJ to close any loopholes in its national law.

If the commission refers the Government to the ECJ and wins its case at the Luxembourg court, the Government may be forced to change its national law. If it refuses to comply with a ruling and change its law, Ireland could face punitive fines.

EMAIL stavros.dimas@ec.europa.eu Read the rest of this entry »

Irish Independent – Friday August 17 2007 

 AN BORD Pleanala is to decide within weeks if the discovery of a national monument on the path of the controversial M3 motorway should compel planners to seek fresh approval for the route.

The National Roads Authority have asked the planning appeals board to decide if the excavations of the Lismullin national monument are a “material change” to the approved scheme and if a new planning application is required.

If the board rule that the road scheme is now different to the one approved in September 2003, it could require a fresh planning application to be lodged, which would lead to huge delays in delivering the motorway.

The Lismullin ritual site was discovered earlier this year but former Environment Minister Dick Roche directed that it be preserved “by record” – which means excavation before it is removed from the road’s path.

The National Monuments Act requires the road authority to submit these new directions to the board, which is expected to decide in the coming weeks if the motorway will require a fresh planning application.

Yesterday TaraWatch called on Environment Minister John Gormley to halt excavation works on the prehistoric ritual site while the board reviews the planning permission.

“The minister appears to be acting in bad faith here, by allowing demolition of the national monument to proceed while the board is making its legal determination,” spokesman Vincent Salafia said. “Minister Gormley must stop the demolition by the NRA and Meath County Council now and permit only the excavation of the delicate features now exposed on the surface.

“This magnificant prehistoric amphitheatre, which sits in plain view of the hilltop, deserves the highest level of protection possible.”

The Department of the Environment has said it does not have the power to alter the route of the road unless a “material change” or new information emerges.

- Paul Melia

SIGN THE SAVE TARA PETITION

EC court move to save Tara site may be too late

Irish Independent - Thursday July 12 2007

By Bernard Purcell

THE ruling under which the Government last month gave the go-ahead to extend M3 road works through Lismullin by the Hill of Tara site breaks European law, the European Commission said last night.

A case is to be brought to the European Court of Justice in the autumn but officials and campaigners fear that may be too late to save the archaeological site as the Government delivers a “fait accompli”.

Independent MEP Kathy Sinnott called on Environment Minister John Gormley to halt works straight away.

Mr Gormley – who says he will hold a conference on treatment of historic sites in the autumn – said the Commission’s legal threat is being taken seriously and will be studied carefully.

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas sent a final warning to the Government on June 29 telling it to amend the 2004 National Monuments Act to include environmental impact assessments and open public consultations on the Tara site.

Officials say a recent European Court judgment ruled certain high value archaeological sites will often need more than one impact assessment as more becomes known during excavation.

The Commission has been in dispute with the Government – which insists that the relevant EC Directive does not cover actual demolition works – for over a year.

Brussels argues that there would be very little point to the Directive if it did not cover demolition. The Environmental Impact Assessment Directive covers motorways and urban development projects and specifically mentions archaeological and cultural heritage sites.

Last year the Commission advised the Government that it could not go ahead and demolish protected structures without a proper assessment which would open the way for objectors to register their concerns.

When they became aware of the Lismullin site they decided to send the final legal warning .

Strictly speaking the Commission has not ordered works to stop. What it has done is to tell the Government to change the 2004 legislation to make provision for proper impact assessment before the site is totally destroyed.

Sources indicated they would welcome an application in the Irish courts for an injunction.

- Bernard Purcell

What is now urgently needed is for everyone to email the EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas about the Tara, M3, Lismullin issue and plead with him to save Tara. We need as many emails as possible sent to the Commissioner today and no later than tomorrow morning.The email of Commissioner Dimas is stavros.dimas@ec.europa.eu

Morning Ireland – radio: Kathy Sinnott, Independent MEP, says an Environment Impact Assessment is needed before the M3 in Co Meath goes ahead

Morning Ireland -radio: John Gormley, Minister for the Environment & Local Government, discusses a massive reform of local government

Belfast Telegraph: EU issues final warning to NRA over M3 motorway near Tara

Meath Chronicle: Minister may sterilise area around Tara

Irish post: Uphill battle to save Tara