The State never intended to do any damage to the ruins of Carrickmines Castle while building a section of the M50 motorway over the site, the High Court heard today.
Lawyers for the Attorney General and the Minister for Environment made the comments as they opened their defence to a constitutional challenge to the South Eastern Motorway project in South Dublin.
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council has been ordered to halt work on the controversial M50 route pending a full hearing on an action being taken by Dublin conservationist Mr Dominic Dunne.
He claims Section 8 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 2004 - which allowed for the partial demolition of the ruins of the Carrickmines Castle - is unconstitutional and contrary to EU directives.
But Mr James Connolly, SC for the State, insisted today that it believed it was entirely acting within the law and that it never intended to do any damage to the stone fortifications of the medieval castle.
"It was never intended to do any damage to a national monument," he said. "What Minister [Martin] Cullen did was exercise his discretionary powers under the legislation and make an administrative decision.
"It wasn't law-making, it wasn't a development consent, just another layer of statutory restrictions."
Earlier, Ms Justice Mary Laffoy said she expected to give her judgement on the hearing "not later than next Tuesday."
Making their closing submissions, lawyers for the plaintiff earlier compared Carrickmines Castle to the Derryflan Chalice, found by a father and son with a metal detector in a Co Tipperary bog in 1980.
A Supreme Court decision later ruled that the priceless 8th Century hoard was the property of the State and it should be stored in the National Museum.
Mr Colman Fitzgerald, SC for Dunne agreed, saying: "Every citizen had a right to enjoy the Chalice as an asset of their national heritage."
Mr Frank Callanan, SC - also acting for the plaintiff - argued that the powers given to Minister Cullen under Section 8 of the National Monuments Act 2004 breached provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights, recently enshrined in Irish law. "Every citizen has the constitutional right to the private enjoyment of something public; that is, a national monument," he said.
Mr Fitzgerald also argued that the Section 8 amendment should have required Mr Cullen to determine whether or not a new Environmental Impact Statement was needed on the project.
The State will continue its defence of the challenge on the fourth day of the hearing tomorrow.