Minister for the Environment Dick Roche has expressed the hope that this week's High Court judgment dismissing a legal challenge to his directions on the treatment of archaeology along the route of the M3 will bring "finality" to this unfortunate affair. The chances are that it won't. Although Mr Justice Thomas Smyth gave short shrift to plaintiff Vincent Salafia, finding against his case on all counts, the controversy about plans to run the motorway through the valley east of the Hill of Tara is bound to continue, both in the courts and elsewhere.
The judge was right to upbraid the plaintiff for not taking action earlier, by seeking a judicial review of An Bord Pleanála's decision in August 2003 to approve the M3 as planned. The appeals board's decision was flawed. It laid down not a single archaeological condition and, furthermore, there had been little consideration during the course of the oral hearing of the central issue of whether the wider area around the Hill of Tara constitutes an "archaeological landscape" that would clearly be altered by the insertion of a motorway, 120 feet wide.
One of the central points at issue is the constitutionality of the 2004 National Monuments (Amendment) Act, under which all power regarding the treatment of Ireland's rich heritage is vested in the hands of the Minister. This was intended by the Government to tilt the balance in favour of infrastructural development as against heritage protection so that there would be no repetition of the debacle involving Carrickmines Castle. A Supreme Court ruling on whether the appropriate balance was struck is long overdue.
The mystical setting of the Hill of Tara, once the seat of Ireland's high kings, is considerably more important than the fate of the outer defences of a Pale fortress in south Co Dublin. Dick Roche could, and should, have declined to issue his directions on the treatment of 38 archaeological sites on the route of the M3 between Dunshaughlin and Navan. But there was a political impetus to forge ahead with the motorway, whatever its consequences for the Tara landscape.
Nobody could deny that the existing N3 is plagued by congestion, mainly caused by commuters using it every day to travel to and from work in Dublin. But an alternative route should have been found - one that would protect, rather than damage, the Tara landscape - and a much higher priority attached to re-opening the old Navan railway line. This project would provide a real alternative to car commuting for many but is not scheduled for completion until 2015. That is much too long to wait while rushing ahead with a misconceived motorway plan.