TaraWatch

NRA Tolling Documentation

NRA denies that hearing into plan to toll M3 is a ‘farce’
Elaine Keogh

The Irish Times
Thursday, January 18, 2007

The National Roads Authority (NRA) yesterday told the hearing into objections to its proposal to toll the M3 motorway that it expected to sign a contract for the public-private partnership (PPP) in the coming weeks.

The NRA denied this made the hearing a “farce” or a “camouflage” .

It also said the charges proposed for the two toll plazas along the 47km motorway “have not been set at levels that would maximise revenue”.

The road will cost €680 million and link Clonee on the Dublin/Meath border to Kells.

A car will pay a toll of €1.30, which is the “lowest planned car toll on the national roads network,” said Gerry Murphy, the head of public-private partnerships and tolling with the NRA.

Meath County Council objected to the tolling, and Cllr John Farrelly said he believed 70 per cent of the 16,000 people who commuted daily to Dublin from Kells would face an annual bill of up to €2,112 if they used the motorway. They would, therefore, continue to use the N3.

He asked the inspector chairing the hearing, Dom Hegarty, if the holding of the hearing was a “camouflage” as he believed the decision had been made to sign the contract for the PPP in the next three weeks.

Mr Murphy said it would be signed within the next two months, possibly one month.

He said it was a flexible contract which gave the NRA the option of deciding not to toll the scheme or to remove the tolls later.

A number of protesters, including members of Tara Watch, an umbrella group for organisations concerned about the possible impact of the M3 on the Hill of Tara, were in the audience and made statements.

Tara Watch said the hearing was a “farce” and should give people the right to reject it. However it appeared the contract was going to be signed anyway.

During the hearing one woman heckled the inspector and the NRA team, alleging they had not done their job properly.

lettersed@irish-times.ie

Village magazine: Tara tolls hearing to begin

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WORLD MONUMENTS FUND
2008 WORLD MONUMENTS WATCH®
LIST OF 100 MOST ENDANGERED SITES

    Jan 14 2007 –  The Hill of Tara archaeological complex and cultural landscape has been nominated to the World Monuments Fund – List of 100 Most Endangered Sites. A decision is expected in June 2007.

Launched in 1995 in response to increasing threats to cultural heritage sites around the globe, the World Monuments Watch is the flagship advocacy program of the World Monuments Fund. Announced every two years, the World Monuments Watch list of 100 Most Endangered Sites calls international attention to cultural heritage sites around the world threatened by factors such as neglect, vandalism, armed conflict or natural disaster. Through the Watch, WMF fosters community and government support for the protection of endangered sites and seeks to attract technical and financial resources to assist in their rescue.
To select the Watch list, the World Monuments Fund convenes an independent panel of experts in the field of cultural heritage. The panel evaluates nominations submitted by government agencies, nonprofit organizations and concerned individuals. Sites from all time periods—from ancient to modern—are eligible. Sites can include residential, civic, commercial, military or religious architecture; cultural landscapes; archaeological sites and townscapes. Since the Watch program’s inception, 481 sites in 109 countries have been included on the Watch list (selected from over 1,500 nominations).
Unlike national and international designations, the Watch list does not confer permanent historic landmark status or permanent recognition on a site. Instead, by featuring new sites every two years, the Watch list seeks to generate public awareness—a sense of urgency—and support the preservation of a wide range of sites at risk. Through the Watch, WMF intends to bring attention to key problems facing threatened cultural heritage and encourage timely responses from governments, local organizations and the general public.
Evaluation of nominations to the Watch list of 100 Most Endangered Sites is based on the following criteria:
•  Significance of Site: Is a site important in terms of its intrinsic, architectural, artistic, historic or social value?
•  Urgency of Threat: Does the site face imminent or inevitable danger or loss?
•  Viability of Solution: Is there a feasible solution that will save the site, through advocacy, physical conservation or other actions?

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STATEMENT

Campaign to Save Tara

‘Statement Regarding Injuries at Tara Today’

09 January 2007

This is a statement made in response to the tragic accident that occurred this afternoon in the woods near Lismullin, Tara, County Meath, where a member of a tree-cutting crew received critical injuries from a falling tree.

The worker was taken away in an ambulance to Navan General Hospital where he is reported to be in critical condition.

The large tree-cutting crew entered the woods behind Lismullin earlier in the day and began removing trees along the proposed pathway of the M3 motorway at a rapid rate, close to where a defensive camp is set up.

There were demonstrators on the scene at that time, objecting to the fact that the tree-felling was being conducted without a license, and is also a breach of EU law, since the public consultation for the M3 is not finished. They brought tree-felling to a halt, temporarily.

Gardai arrived at the scene, and were present at the time of the accident, as they had been called by both demonstrators and workers.

Gardai refused to intervene as they said this was a civil matter. Two demonstrators had been in the woods, but returned to the road when Gardai arrived, and felling resumed. Then the accident happened.

Complaints were made to the Health and Safety Authority last week about the lack of safety procedures being employed by tree-fellers, but work carried on.

While demonstrators played no direct part in the accident, they wish the worker a full and speedy recovery.

Repeated pleas by campaigners for third party intervention and mediation in this escalating situation have been ignored over the last week. It is hoped that such a process will begin immediately, before work resumes.

ENDS

Irish Times: Worker critical after M3 tree-felling incident Jan 10

RTE News: Inquiry into accident on M-way project Jan 10

The Sun: Tara Horror & The Star: Safety worker crushed by tree at Tara Jan 10

Meath Chronicle: Expert fights for life after tree mishap Jan 10

Protesters bring temporary halt to work on new M3 motorway
Fiona Gartland

Irish Times
Thursday, January 4, 2007

Preparatory work for the new M3 motorway from Clonee to Kells in Co Meath was temporarily disrupted yesterday when Save Tara campaigners held a protest against the controversial road.

A handful of protesters entered a site at Baronstown, near Dunshaughlin, where scrub, trees and soil were being removed. They sat in front of machinery that was being used to move the scrub. They also sat in the buckets of earth-moving equipment to prevent them from being used.

Work on the site was halted and workers vacated the area in advance of an inspection by health and safety consultants.

The action marked the beginning of a campaign against preparatory tree felling along the route of the M3, including near national monument Rath Lugh, the site of a promontory fort in the Tara-Skryne Valley and at Ardsallagh, where a large number of trees have been removed.

Protesters argued that work other than archaeological excavation should not be taking place before an oral hearing on the National Roads Authority (NRA) draft tolling scheme for the motorway takes place later this month and before contracts have been signed with Eurolink, who are the preferred bidder for the project.

Eric Burke, a protester who lives close to Ardsallagh and whose garden is included in a compulsory purchase order for the road, said the tree felling began just before Christmas.

“They did not give us notice the trees would be coming down, they just came in and did it,” he said.

“They haven’t finalised the tolling scheme yet, so why have they started this?”

Local Sinn Féin councillor Joe Reilly has called for work on the route of the M3 to cease as the public-private partnership contract has not yet been signed.

However, a spokesman for the NRA said the preparatory work was not part of the main contract to build the M3 but was being done ahead of the site transfer and was being carried out by a firm sub-contracted to Meath County Council.

He also said the draft tolling scheme was a separate issue from the construction of the motorway and the motorway could still go ahead regardless of the outcome of the oral hearing.

“The gap can be filled in other ways,” he said.

On yesterday’s protest, the spokesman said the contractor had taken appropriate measures.

“There was no need to cause controversy, the decision was to make sure no one was put in harm’s way, even if they were willing to put themselves in harm’s way. The mature stance was not to engage and to move to work elsewhere,” he said.

“That is what the contractor did. A health and safety consultant was called in and the gardaí were informed of the situation, but because it did not escalate they did not need to come out.”

WRITE TO: lettersed@irish-times.ie

Motorway opponents protest against felling of Tara trees

10:28 Wednesday January 3rd 2007
http://www.unison.ie/breakingnews/index.php3?ca=9&si=103913

Opponents of the new M3 motorway in Co Meath have mounted a demonstration in the Tara-Skryne valley today to protest at the felling of trees along the route of the proposed road.

The protestors are accusing the National Roads Authority of tearing down mature trees at several sites on the route, including the historic Rath Lugh area.

The National Roads Authority has defended the work, saying it is part of normal preparations for the motorway project.

The authority also says it is currently the best time of year to carry out the work without disturbing the local wildlife.

Irish Times: Protesters bring temporary halt to work on new M3 motorway 4 Jan

Irish Independent: Tara protesters disrupt work on M3 4 Jan

Irish News: M-way protestors vow to save Tara heritage site 4 Jan

Irish Times: Call for an end to clearing of trees near Tara 6 Jan

Irish Independent: Ancient Tara site to be buried under concrete 15 Jan

Irish Times: Roads agency denies damage to Tara site 16 Jan

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These new images were taken December 31st, 2006.  They show the pathway for the M3 motorway having been cleared through part of the Tara / Skryne Valley, at Rath Lugh. Other wooded areas are still intact, but it is feared works will resume tomorrow, New Years Day. Peaceful demonstrations at the sites will occur daily, beginning Monday morning.

Large trees cleared from the bottom of Rath Lugh, a national monument, and defensive fort to Tara, on the northern slope of Skryne.  There is no indcation that the site will be excavated. If it was to be. excavated, then would they not have cleared it a year and a half ago? Also a new area being worked on today, just behind Lismullen. There are still wooded areas remaining between Rath Lugh and Blundelstown, which will be the location of daily demonstrations beginning New Year’s Day.

If you want to assist, please visit the Tara Solidarity Vigil, which is located on the north of the Hill of Tara, past Rath Grainne. Just follow the ditch/ road north, from the parking area, and they are located in the corner. Rope and tarpolin are needed. Call 086-175-8557 or 087-132-3365

The Campaign Campaign to Save Tara is a network consisting of
Save Tara Skryne Valley group
Tara Solidarity Vigil
TaraWatch
Earth Wisdom Foundation
 

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http://m3motorway.ie/Archaeology/Section2/Baronstown1/
The Discovery Programme experts of Tara say is a Baronstown is a national monument, that was not dealt with by the EIS. But this evidence was excluded from the recent High Court case. Clear plastic bags, containing bones, without numbers or markings were found lying in random places. There were many any other exosed bones lying around on other sites too. This is a massive triple-enclosure, right in the heart of the valley between Tara and Skryne.

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- Multi-period burials at Collierstown
http://m3motorway.ie/Archaeology/Section2/Collierstown1/, which Newman, Fenwick and Bhreatnach say is a national monument, that was not dealt with by the EIS. But this evidence was excluded from the case.

This is a burial site, with many graves in rectangle shape, edged with stone slabs. They appeared to be children’s graves.

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A new triple beehive souterrain has been discovered at Roestown 

The other complex of beehive souterrains, triple and double, interconnected, has already been removed. The new one will be romoved shortly. Tree-felling has already occured on this site. http://m3motorway.ie/Archaeology/Section2/Roestown2/.

This site is very dramatic, but there is little information, and none at all for the other two related sites, despite the NRA’s claim that they will make information available;
http://m3motorway.ie/Archaeology/Section2/Roestown3/
http://m3motorway.ie/Archaeology/Section2/Roestown1/

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- Eurolink equipment depot
SIAC / Ferrovial Agroman Ireland construction site depot, south of Dunshaughlin at Race Track Road, with a lot of earthmoving machinery, including diggers, lorries and earth-movers. The Health and Safety site approval form on the front of the site, dated Nov 24th, is to the NRA, SIAC Construction, Ferrovial Agroman Ireland and Wills Bros Engineering. The notice says “Construction work associated with the transfer of material from the M50 project Contract 1 to the M3 Area 10. The works include embankment, construction and storage of material in areas identified below.” The big question is, should this be happening if the PPP contract is not yet signed, and the public consultation for the tolling plan has not yet happened? It will take place on January 17th 2007.

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