Anger Strike Resumes Thursday 17th - Dail Eireann - Get Them Out!
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Wednesday June 16, 2004 20:07
by Vincent Salafia - Save Tara Skryne Valley Group
savetaraskreen at yahoo dot com
PO Box 30, Tara, Co. Meath
087-132-3365
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'Anger Strike Calls for Politicians to Force General Election by Opposing National Monuments Bill.'
NRA: "The M3 will only impact 2 sites." WAG: "That's funny - I count 28."
From The Newswire: The Anger Strike protest, called by Save Tara Skryne Valley Group, against the National Monuments Bill will continue Thursday morning, at 9.30 am at the Kildare Street entrance to the Dail.
The goal of the campaign is to rally support from the Opposition and Fianna Fail backbenchers, in order to vote down the National Monuments Bill, and formation of a new Governmewnt that will protect Ireland's national heritage at the Hill of Tara, as well as Carrickmines and Waterford.
This morning (Wed 16th June) Trevor Sargent TD (Greens), Eamon Gilmore TD (Labour), and Mary Lou McDonald MEP (Sinn Fein), as well as newly elected Meath County Councillor, Philip Cantwell (Ind) were among politicians who joined the Anger Strike.
A group of approximately 30 campaigners are calling on members of all parties to oppose the bill, to save Ireland's heritage, and to bring down this Government for once and for all. They are hoping that if the Government loses on this Bill, that a general election will have to be called.
Continue at this link for the Full Feature including the reasons why the Save Tara Skryne Valley Group are so angry about the National Monuments Bill.
Previous Indymedia Feature : "Tara Don't Want No Carrickmines"
The Bill is being challenged because:
- It is designed to legalize badly designed roads, not protect national monuments.
- It is against the letter and spirit of the National Monuments Acts (1930-1994) to legislate away legal protections for a particular site, Carrickminmes, because the Government failed to identify the site
beforehand, and created the 'emergency' in the first place.
- It was developed without consultation with heritage groups.
- It eliminates the existing democratic checks and balances, by reducing from three to one the number of actors involved in consenting
to demolision of a national monument; allowing Minister Martin Cullen to be judge, jury and executioner.
- It eliminates the democratic checks and balances, requiring that the consent of the Minister must be placed before the Dail for 21 sitting days, thus eliminating national debate on the issue of destruction of a national monument.
- It reduces, rather than increases protections for monuments for the first time in Irish history.
- It is a breach of the European Convention on the Protection of the Arcvhaeological Heritage, 1992, or the Valletta Convention, to which Ireland is a signatory, and which reinforces that national heritage sites are of European significance and that preservation in situ must be the first priority over preservation by record.
- It is a violation of the UNESCO World Heritage Site legislation, which Ireland has agreed to. A copy is being mailed to UNESCO, and we are awaiting Tara to be placed on the 100 Most Endangered Sites List in July.
- It is violation of EU law, including the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive, which has been included into Irish law, and requires adequate prior investigation, and therefore will come into direct conflict where the European Commission may make a contrary ruling in its current, ongoing investigation into Carrickmines.
The Anger Strike will resume tomorrow, with representatives from:
- Carrickmines Castle, which is currently protected by the National Monuments Act, but in the path of the M50.
- Waterford's Viking remains, currently protected by the National Monuments Act, but in the path of the Waterford Bypass.
- Clondalkin's, and Ireland's oldest round tower, under threat of development into a pub.
- Trim Castle, Co Meath, Ireland's finest Norman Castle, location for Braveheart, under threat of development by hotel, which Minister Cullen declined to protect.
- and others.
According to Vincent Salafia, an LL.M candidate in Trinity College Dublin Law School, specializing in heritage law:
"We are pushing ahead with our preparations to seek a High Court injunction, to prevent this Government from digging up the Hill of Tara, under current legislation."
"I am certain this Amendment Bill will not be carried, and this morally bankrupt administration will be be cast put into the bowels of history.
Dr. Muireann Ni Bhrolchain said:
"The EU, UNESCO and the entire academic world are absolutely outraged. This puts us right up there with Iraq in terms of senseless destruction of globally significant cultural heritage."
ENDS
Contact:
Vincent Salafia 087-132-3365
Muireann Ni Bhrolchain 087-924-9510
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Comments (7 of 7)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7very shwish.
Cheers for that. It is the work of Joe Fenwick and Conor Newman, at NUI Galway. You can see their site at: http://www.nuigalway.ie/faculties_departments/archaeology/Tara_M3.html
More info on the new bill...
http://newact2004.history.ie/
Trevor Sargent TD - Green Party, Phil Cantwell. Cllr. Trim (left) and Vincent Salafia (right)
Dylan, Heritage Activist Veteran of Carrickmines, Tara & Trim Castle
Heritage Activists of Ireland
Sinn Féin spokesperson on the Environment, Heritage and Local Government Arthur Morgan TD said:
"Unsurprisingly, Minister Martin Cullen has brought forward a Bill which seeks to put developers and the interests of the National Roads Authority before safeguarding our heritage.
"This is an anti-heritage piece of legislation designed to overcome conservationist's opposition to the Carrickmines interchange on the M50, the M3 Clonee to North of Kells motorway, the Waterford bypass and the construction of a 4 storey hotel 20 yards from Trim castle. The basic underlying theory of the Bill is to permit the destruction of national monuments to facilitate infrastuctural developments. The introduction of this Bill makes it absolutely clear that Martin Cullen is as unsuited to holding responsibility for Heritage as he is for holding responsibility for environmental protection.
"If the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government had any interest in Heritage protection what he should be doing is putting in place mechanisms to ensure that, prior to the commencement of developments such as the Carrickmines interchange, proper procedures and impact assessment studies are put in place. This would ensure that mistakes such as those which led to the Carrickmines debacle are not repeated again and would ensure that national monuments be detected early and avoided when building infrastructure. What the people of this State are seeking is that roads would be built legally and properly having followed proper planning processes including the early identification of heritage sites and national monuments so that they can be avoided rather than destroyed.
more at....
In relation to the Save Tara Skyrne Valley group and the statement ..."calling on members of all parties to oppose the bill, to save Ireland's heritage, and to bring down this Government for once and for all." Will any Fianna Failers vote against the bill if the anti-bill campaign has the stated aim of removing them from power?
what this i read about dun mor being bulldozed ?
http://www.irishexaminer.com/breaking/2004/06/21/story153482.html
According to a Heritage Council survey, around 10% of all national monuments have been lost in the last 10 years. The vast majority of this destruction is carried out by farmers who are reclaiming land. Mr Gibbons said that changes in Irish farming had accelerated the process.