Roche under fire over planned Viking site committee

ENVIRONMENT Minister Dick Roche is under fire for failing to appoint a representative of the Save Viking Waterford Action Group to a planned new strategic management committee on the future of the Woodstown site.

The minister announced his proposals last May to establish the new committee.

But chairman of the action group Dr Catherine Swift claimed this had not progressed any further.

“It sounded great at the time and we, as a group campaigning for the excavation of Woodstown, were very positive about this development,” she said.

“When it was revealed that Dr Patrick Wallace was to be the National Museum’s representative and Eamon McEneaney was there to represent the Granary and Waterford City Council, it seemed that, after months of Government prevarication, we were finally getting somewhere.

“However, six months later, the committee has not even met once. Our understanding for the reason it did not meet met was that the minister has failed to appoint anybody from his own department, which was a pre-requisite.”

Dr Swift said: “This is a complete abdication of the minister’s responsibilities and makes a nonsense of his statements last May.”

Action, she insisted, was overdue. “This Government has provided to be past masters at making grand public promises and then allowing promises to be drowned in a sea of red tape, inaction and indifference.

“It seems to me that his plan would be to hope the public was mollified by his statement in May and, further, that public sentiment supporting the excavation of Woodstown died.”

She added: “Waterford citizens will not be able to benefit from the discovery of this amazing site if the Government refuse to even discuss its potential.”

A department spokesman said the working group was announced by Mr Roche when he issued the directions protecting the site.

“Subsequently, nominees were sought and received from the National Museum of Ireland, the NRA, Waterford City Council and the Heritage Council. Mr Maurice Hurley has also been asked to sit on the group. Senior staff in the department will make up the remainder of the group.

“The preliminary report on the archaeological excavations carried between March and June 2004 and finds’ retrievals during March to October 2004 was just recently received in the department.

“The department will be forwarding a copy of the report to the nominees shortly with a view to scheduling the first meeting as soon as it is practical.”