A national survey has found 70 per cent of participants want the M3 motorway rerouted away from the Hill of Tara. Fiona Gartland reports.
The telephone survey, by RedCResearch found seven out of 10 people wanted the M3 to go ahead but outside the Tara-Skryne Valley. A third of respondents said they believed the Government gave enough consideration to alternative solutions such as a Navan-Dublin rail link.
More than 1,000 adults responded to the survey carried out in May for Tarawatch, a campaigning group set up to resist Government plans to route the M3 through the Tara-Skryne Valley.
The group also brought forward an alternative route at a meeting yesterday. The route, "Blue 2", chosen by the National Roads Authority and approved by An Bord Pleanála, passes east of the Hill of Tara and, according to Tarawatch, will destroy national monuments and valuable archaeology.
"Orange 1", its suggested alternative, passes west of the hill and "saves the core monuments of Tara from destruction, and is up to 3.5km shorter than the current route, increasing profitability and efficiency dramatically".
The group also held a protest at the M50 toll booth yesterday. Toll bridge operator National Toll Roads was named last week as the preferred bidder to build and operate booths on the M3.
Green Party deputy Ciarán Cuffe said a good case had been made for moving the road and he supported the campaign for an alternative route. Sinn Féin deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh also pledged his support.
Construction of the motorway depends on the outcome of court action in October.
Environmental activist Vincent Salafia was given leave by the High Court in July to bring proceedings to secure its rerouting. The action, against the Minister for the Environment, Meath County Council, the Attorney General and the National Roads Authority, will challenge directions given by Minister for the Environment Dick Roche regarding the treatment of 38 known archaeological sites along a stretch of the proposed motorway.
The result of October's High Court case could also be significantly affected by a Supreme Court decision concerning the routing of the Southern Cross motorway near Carrickmines Castle.
An NRA spokesman said it had no doubt that most people supported the Bord Pleanála-approved route.
"We put a lot of time and effort into coming up with this route and the board approved it," he said. "We are now anxious to get to the point where construction can start."