Roche 'to approve controversial Tara motorway plan'

Environment Minister Dick Roche has reportedly decided to allow the controversial M3 motorway to be built along its planned route past the Hill of Tara, the ancient seat of the High Kings of Ireland.

Reports this morning said the minister was set to issue licences to allow archaeologists to dig up historic and pre-historic sites along the route of the road.

The move comes despite widespread opposition to the building of the motorway through the Tara-Skryne valley, which is rich in archaeology dating back to the Stone Age.

Heritage campaigners have been seeking a change in the route to ensure it does not destroy the Tara landscape, but business groups and some local residents have been demanding that the motorway be built as planned.

The director of the National Museum recently made it clear to Mr Roche that he was opposed to the route of the motorway due to its “demeaning” effect on the landscape.

These concerns were echoed yesterday in a statement yesterday from 80 academics and scholars worldwide, who appealed for the road to built in another location away from the Tara hinterland.