Council confident of making motorway deadline

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council will meet its September 2005 deadline for completing the South Eastern Motorway section of the M50 ring road around Dublin if there are no further legal actions over Carrickmines Castle, a council official said last night.

He was commenting after a legal challenge to the building of a roundabout over the castle remains failed in the High Court yesterday.

However, campaigners said they would continue to oppose the routing of the motorway through the medieval castle site.

Work resumed on the site in December after the High Court lifted an interlocutory injunction preventing such work. Construction workers were back on site this week after the Christmas break.

Mr Eamon O'Hare, the council's director of transportation, said he hoped this was the end of the legal challenges by protesters. "We have been in and out of court for the past 13 or 14 months. If no further legal impediments are put in our way, our objective of September 2005 [to finish the motorway] now seems readily achievable."

Mr Michael Mulcreevy had sought leave in the High Court to challenge ministerial consent to build a roundabout at the site, but the High Court rejected his application. It also awarded costs against Mr Mulcreevy, the sole plaintiff, a move which conservationists said was "unfortunate".

Dr Seán Duffy, chairman of Friends of Medieval Dublin, said he was confident that the campaigners would eventually win.

He pointed out that the EU Commission's report on the issue was still awaited, and if the Commission found defects in the environmental impact study then funding for the road could be in jeopardy. However, the National Roads Authority said it was confident that the EU report would not pose a serious threat to the scheme.

"We certainly wouldn't anticipate any move on behalf of the Commission to stop the road scheme," said Mr Michael Egan, NRA spokesman.

He said the ruling was "another major development" in the saga. "Hopefully this is the last of it. We have been through the grinder, and we are still determined to continue with our work."

The High Court ruling was described as "disastrous" by environmental campaigners.

Conservationist Mr Ruadhán Mac Eoin denied that this was the last chance for campaigners to stop the routing of the road through the Carrickmines site.

"This is not the end, far from it," he said. "There are still a number of different possibilities, and we are consulting with our legal counsel. An appeal is one possibility, and we are reviewing all avenues."

The Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, welcomed the ruling, and said his decision to allow the road to continue had been made in the public interest.

"The implications of continued delay or non-completion of the M50 to the taxpayer, the country's infrastructure and economic activity are serious."

He said he recognised the contribution of archaeological excavations, and pointed out that the archaeological work cost an estimated €6 million.

"Consent is now there to get on with the delivery of this major piece of national infrastructure for the public benefit."

The decision was also welcomed by PD deputy Ms Fiona O'Malley. "I believe the public in general want to see an end to this long-running saga.

"This is a major piece of infrastructure; it is badly needed. Continued delays were costing the taxpayers money and exacerbating gridlock in the area."