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 Government's
"hypocrisy" on Heritage Week slammed by group
The
cross border heritage and environment forum – The Battle for the
Boyne – today called on people throughout the island of Ireland to
reflect on the appalling record of the Irish Government and its agencies
in failing to protect what’s probably the richest seam of heritage
sites in Ireland – the Boyne Valley.
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A
map showing the path of the planned M3 motorway passing the Hill
of Tara. Click
for larger version.
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"A
proposed hotel in the shadow of Trim Castle; a motorway speeding past
the historic Hill of Tara, and for good measure a waste incinerator on
the footprint of the Battle of the Boyne, whose chimney would be visible
from the UNESCO World Heritage site of Bru na Boinne – should community
action fail to halt it. For all this – and more heritage degradation
throughout the country – the buck stops at the office of the Heritage
Minister, Martin Cullen," said a spokesman for the Battle for the
Boyne.
"The
Irish Government have displayed a completely cavalier attitude towards
protecting our heritage and environment, and have drawn the ire of both
the EU and UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee on them in recent months,"
continued the spokesman, adding
"Perhaps in these circumstances, on behalf of his Government colleagues,
Mr. Cullen should be conferred with the title "King of the Philistines.
The funds wasted in the e-voting debacle – almost EUR 50m - which
he oversaw would have given Ireland a world class recycling capability,
dispensing with the need to degrade the Boyne Valley area with the threat
of both a superdump and an incinerator to become Dublin’s Dustbin,"
the spokesman said.
The
Battle for the Boyne forum also condemned An Bord Pleanala (the National
Planning Board), and the National Roads Authority for their disregard
for the exceptional, world class heritage in the Boyne Valley area, which
faces unprecedented threat, citing in particular the UNESCO World Heritage
site of Bru na Boinne; the site of the Battle of the Boyne, one of Europe’s
most famous and celebrated battle sites; Trim Castle and the Hill of Tara.
"We
are especially concerned that few people in Northern Ireland will be aware
of what’s happening here. The reality is that key heritage sites,
such as the location of the Battle of the Boyne face extinction as residential
and commercial development is allowed with the support of the Irish Government
and it’s agencies – run rampant across this historic valley,
which has few equals anywhere in the world. We urge all those individuals
and groups throughout the island of Ireland who are concerned at the official
and wanton destruction of our heritage to contact us without delay at
P.O.Box 1690, Drogheda to register their support. If we don’t mobilise,
it will be too late to stop the carnage that heritage sites are being
subjected to," concluded the spokesman.
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