Cullen to rush through laws for stalled Carrickmines project

ENVIRONMENT Minister Martin Cullen is expected to rush through new laws to get the stalled M50 motorway project at historic Carrickmines Castle in south Dublin back on track.

Mr Cullen's embarrassment by Thursday's High Court ruling that a consent he signed was illegal is compounded by the €1 million it is costing taxpayers for every month the project is delayed.

"The minister is considering the position," was the only comment a spokesperson for Mr Cullen's department would make last night about his next move.

The court overturned the consent Mr Cullen made last summer for works involving the destruction or removal of medieval remains at the fortress site, regarded by archaeologists as of huge international importance.

The National Roads Authority disclosed it would cost €1 million for every month the project was delayed as builders could not move onto the site.

There are 500 workers and contractors waiting to move to the site and NRA spokesman Michael Egan expressed the hope the Government would press ahead with the necessary legislation needed to finish the motorway.

During a massive "dig" spanning 18 months and costing €6 million, 200 archaeology workers turned up 100,000 finds, from pottery to weapons to personal ornaments, uncovering a site regarded by experts as priceless in terms of size and complexity.

Labour TD Eamon Gilmore, a long-standing critic of the controversial motorway project, said the court's decision was caused mainly "by Government arrogance and official indifference, if not indeed hostility, to heritage concerns".

He said it ought to be possible to build a motorway in such a way as to preserve archaeological sites. Not only was the project being delayed but they would destroy part of Carrickmines Castle, he added.

Dr Mark Clinton, the archaeologist who led the extensive dig at Carrickmines, said the motorway project had been "a disaster from day one".

He maintained there had been enough evidence five years previously to show the area of the castle was rich in archaeological potential and should have been given a wide berth by the motorway route.

The row over the 12th century site and the M50 has led to virtual pitched battles between conservationists and road builders and divided politicians, An Taisce, and even archaeologists. And has added tens of millions of euro to the cost of building the motorway.