Will European-Union Funding be used in Ireland to destroy European heritage?

A 3000 year old, 1.6 hectare, pagan ceremonial site has recently been discovered at Tara in Ireland, directly in the path of construction for a four-lane motorway. The find is circular in shape and originally made of wood, thus giving it the name ‘Wood Henge’, in reference to the similarly shaped Stone Henge in England. It was immediately awarded the status by Irish archaeologists of National Monument, and recognised as being of major significance.

Tara is where the ancient Kings and Queens of Ireland ruled, and it is thought that the new discovery was used as a place for royal ceremonies and religious worship. However, the site may soon be destroyed and covered over in cement.

The Irish Minister for Heritage and Environment, Dick Roche, may give the order for the site to merely be photographed and noted down by archaeologists, so that the bulldozers can quickly move in, plough through it, and get on with building the motorway. Protest groups in Ireland are calling on the Irish government to re-route the motorway away from this culturally important area. So far the Minister has not made his plans public, but given a number of his past decisions, many environmentalists fear the worst.

Europe has an important role to play in this battle for heritage. The motorway in question, the M3, is partly financed by European Structural Funds. It is a condition of the EU structural grants that the Member States who receive them must ensure that important archaeological finds are properly protected. Irish heritage after all is part of European heritage. This issue was raised in the European Parliament on 9 May by Irish MEP Proinsias De Rossa who called on European Commissioner Dimas to intervene directly with the Irish government and ensure that EU structural funds will not be misused to destroy our common European heritage. The British MEP Roger Helmer also tabled a question to the European Parliament on 10 May asking the Commission were they aware that the Irish government were planning to build a motorway through important archaeological sites.