‘Save Newgrange to Propose M3 Motorway as Alternative to Dublin-Derry Road’

Save Newgrange will be making objections at the oral hearing for the A5/M2 Dublin-Derry road, Country Hotel, Beltany Road, Omagh, at 3.15pm today.

The proposed Dublin to Derry road was agreed under the St Andrews Agreement in 2006, and will be longest and most expensive new road (over 1bn)ever built on the island of Ireland, if it proceeds. It includes a 500m payment to the UK from the Irish Government for the A5 upgrade in NI.

Save Newgrange is objecting to the Slane bypass part of the road, which will run within 500m of the Brú na Bóinne UNESCO World Heritage Site. According US expert, Dr. Douglas Comer, who was retained by Meath County Council, the proposal threatens the site’s World Heritage Status.

Vincent Salafia, a lecturer in Environmental Legislation and Planning & Risk Management, will allege that the proposed road breaches national, European and international legislation, including the UNESCO Convention and the St Andrews Agreement.

Speaking today, in advance of the hearing, Mr Salafia said:

“People on both sides of the Border, from both nationalist and unionist communities, are outraged that this proposed road is so close to the World Heritage Site.”

“The people of NI have been deprived of a right to participate in decision-making as Environmental Statement for the A5 section of the road in NI does not even mention the threat posed to Newgrange by the southern M2 section.

“While the St Andrews Agreement provides for a new level of North South co-operation, the planning process for this road has denied people on both sides of the border the right to participate in decision-making, by failing to provide them with all the information on the potential impacts on the environment and cultural heritage.

“At this point, extending the M3 makes more sense than making the same mistakes made at Tara all over again at Newgrange.”

ENDS

Contact: Vincent Salafia +353-87-132-3365

NOTE TO EDITORS

A copy of the Mr Salafia’s presentation is available on in Powerpoint

Press Release | Save Newgrange | 6 April 2011

Government Must Prioritize Monuments Bill in Programme of Legislation

Save Newgrange is calling on the Government to add the National Monuments Bill to its list of 20 urgent Bills to be published by the end of the Summer Session on July 21^st. The call comes in response to first Programme of Legislation published yesterday, listing 105 Bills at various stages of preparation.

The Bill must be presented immediately, since last month, the current National Monuments Act was held in breach of the EU Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive, by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The Court found that the decision by former Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, to demolish Lismullin national monument at Tara was illegal, since a new EIA was not required by the Act.

Save Newgrange had announced on Monday that it was staging a demonstration outside Dail Eireann on Friday, calling for the Bill to be passed before Summer, and before An Bord Pleanala decides whether to give planning permission for the N2 Slane Bypass, which is proposed to pass within 500m of the Bru na Boinne UNESCO World Heritage site. The proposal has been condemned by national and international experts. The demonstration will take place on Kildare Street, at 1.00pm on Friday.

A Save Newgrange spokesperson said:

“The Government is showing its colours, and they are not much different than the previous ones. It is now abundantly clear that there is the same disregard for heritage and the environment, coupled the same two-fingered approach to the European Commission’s Environment Directorate.

“This lack of priority for heritage in the Programme of Legislation also shows how weak Labour is in the coalition. It had been the most outspoken of Opposition parties against the M3 motorway at Tara.

“Eamon Gilmore had been highly critical of the 2004 Amendment to the National Monuments Act, brought in by Martin Cullen and now found to be illegal by the ECJ.

“If Eamon Gilmore wants to wash off the stain on Ireland’s international reputation, he should be trying to ensure that Bru na Boinne site does not suffer the fate of the Hill of Tara, and become the next great international embarrassment.

ENDS

Contact: Vincent Salafia 087-132-3365

SAVE NEWGRANGE – PRESS RELEASE – 18 November 2010

“Funding NI A5 Upgrade and Slane Bypass not a Priority for Labour Party”

The Labour Party has cast doubt over whether it will keep the promise made by the current Government to give £400 (€500m) to the Northern Ireland Executive to upgrade the A5/M2, Dublin to Derry Road, which also includes the Slane bypass. The promise was made at the time of the Belfast Agreement, and has been renewed by Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey.

Public consultation on what would be the biggest road ever built in Northern Ireland began yesterday with the publication of the Environmental Statement for the A5 dual carriageway, to be built from the N2/Border to Derry, and on to Letterkenny. The deadline for public comment closes 21 January 2011.

Labour Transport Spokesman, Joe Costello, TD, responded yesterday to a pre-Budgetary survey by Save Newgrange, saying:

“Ireland is in the worst recession in the history of the State. Spending one billion euro on a new road from Dublin to Derry including a €400 million spend in Northern Ireland will certainly not be a priority for the Labour Party while essentials such as health and education are being savagely cut.

“The Labour Party has made it clear that we will be revisiting the National Development Plan and Transport 21 in the context of the present state of the public finances. A realistic cost benefit analysis will be applied to every project.

“Moreover we are reviewing the entire Transport policy with a new emphasis on urban and rural public transport.

Tom Elliot, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader, yesterday told The Belfast Telegraph:

“It would seem from the latest communiqué of the North-South Ministerial Council that ministers have agreed a payment schedule for the project, but I still consider that this amount of money would be better spent on other important projects in the health and education sectors.

“I share the views of many of the people on both sides of the border that the project should be scaled down to a more modest version — this could be achieved at a fraction of the cost.”

Vincent Salafia of Save Newgrange said:

“We welcome Labour’s response to the pres-budgetary survey and their promise to perform a new cost/benefit analysis on the Slane bypass and the A5 upgrade.

“We will be updating our EU Complaint, on the basis that there should have been cross-border public consultation for both ends of this single ‘transboundary project’.

“It is very telling that the Green Party and Fine Gael both declined to respond to the pre-budgetary survey.

ENDS

NOTE TO EDITORS: A pre-budgetary survey was sent to all of the political parties on Thursday, 11 November, and responses were to be returned by 5.00pm yesterday, 17 November. The Labour Party was the only party to respond. The complete survey is available at www.savenewgrange.org.

MORE INFORMATION:

A5 Western Transport Corridor – Environmental Statement

Belfast Telegraph: It’s time to scale back £844m road, urges UUP leader

SAVE NEWGRANGE

11 November 2010

‘Pre-budgetary Survey About Dublin to Derry Road Spending Sent to all Political Parties’

Save Newgrange has sent a pre-budgetary survey, asking questions about the Slane bypass and the proposed M2/A5 Dublin to Derry upgrade, to all of the major political parties. They have been given until 5.00pm on  Wednesday 17 Nov to respond, and the results will be made public on Thursday, 18th Nov.

The survey asks for the parties position on the route of the Slane bypass as well as questions about the larger Dublin to Derry road upgrade scheme, including:

- Funding of €50/100m Slane bypass
- Funding of €500m for the A5 Western Transport Corridor to be given to NI
- Funding of €300m for the N2 Clontibret to the Border and Monaghan bypass

Save Newgrange spokesman, Vincent Salafia, said:

“Voters need to know where all the parties stand on the funding for the Slane bypass, and its parent scheme – the billion euro M2/A5 upgrade.

“The Opposition parties are also being offered an opportunity to give their position on the routing of the Slane bypass, 500m from Bru na Boinne World Heritage Site.

“We hope to the Green Party, in particular, will respond to the survey, given the high level number of local and environmental groups who are opposed to this road, both North and South.

ENDS

Contact – Vincent Salafia 087-132-3365

Pre-Budgetary Survey of Political Parties

M2/A5 Dublin to Derry Road

Thursday 11 November

The survey relates to the proposed upgrade of the Dublin to Derry road; M2/N2 in the Republic of Ireland, which becomes the A5 in Northern Ireland, as provided for in Transport 21. Given the dire state of public finances, and the fact that numerous cuts to the roads programme have already been made by the Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, last July and December, it is important for voters to know if upwards of one billion euro will be provided for this plan, in the coming four-year budgetary plan, and after the next General Election. The questionnaire is being sent today to all the major political parties, and the results will be released to the media the following day.

N2 Slane bypass

The N2 Slane bypass is currently in planning, after An Bord Pleanala forced Meath County Council to publish additional information. The date of any oral hearing is yet to be announced.  In addition to the cost, of between €50/100 million, the planning process, with an oral hearing, will also entail significant cost, not just for Government bodies but for NGOS and the public.

Save Newgrange is opposed to the route of the bypass, which passes within 500m of the Bru na Boinne UNESCO World Heritage Site, and over 44 archaeological sites have been identified within the 3.5km study area.  The route also passes through a candidate Special Area of Conservation (SAC), protected in EU and Irish law. Archaeological experts like Professor George Eogan (UCD) and Joe Fenwick, of the Boyne Valley Research Project, oppose the route on heritage grounds.

Save Newgrange also supports the economic objections made by transport economist Dr Edgar Morgenroth of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), who called the bypass an “idiotic” waste of taxpayers’ money. He argued that the HGV ban, passed by Meath County Councillors in April 2009, should be implemented instead, which would remove the threat to safety of 1,600 HGVs a day passing through the village of Slane.  However, the Meath County Manager, Tom Dowling, has refused to implement the ban.

A curious aspect to this project is that the National Roads Authority (NRA) cancelled the N2 Slane bypass, on economic grounds, in a letter to the Council in May 2009. However, after a visit by the Taoiseach Brian Cowen to Slane in June, on the local election campaign trail, in June 2009, the bypass was put back in the pipeline.

A5 Western Transport Corridor

It is important to note that the N2 Slane bypass is part of a larger plan to link Dublin to Derry, and the Irish Government has committed to give £400 million (€487 million) to the Northern Ireland authorities, to upgrade the A5; the A5 Western Transport Corridor (A5WTC), which runs from the Border to Derry and on to Letterkenny.  This plan has been criticised by even the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, Tom Elliot, who said both administrations (North and South) should not be spending £400m on the A5.

N2 Ashbourne to Ardee

The upgrade of the Ashbourne to Ardee section of the N2 has already been put on hold by the NRA, on economic grounds. This section straddles the Slane bypass, and it makes little sense to proceed with an isolated, stand-alone dual carriageway 3.5 bypass, when the connecting roads on each end will not be upgraded in the foreseeable future.

N2 Clontibret to the Border

There is large scale opposition locally against plans for a new bypass of Monaghan, (which was already bypassed in 2006) in plan for the Clontibret to the Border section  of the N2. Planning for this section continues, although an application has not been made to An Bord Pleanala yet. The proposed stretch of road [in Co Monaghan] will carve through complicated drumlin country, costing up to €12 million per kilometre – a total of €300 million.

Dr Edgar Morgenroth of the ESRI said in The Irish Times, 26 Aug. “Plans by the National Roads Authority for a 27- kilometre dual-carriageway between Clontibret, Co Monaghan, and the Border at Aughnacloy, Co Tyrone, amounted to “total overkill, especially since Monaghan has already been bypassed”.

Questions

Given that we are dealing with a four year budgetary plan, it is critical that your party makes its position clear now.  In order to inform voters, we ask that you please complete the survey questions below.

Please answer the following questions, and feel free to add comments at any point. The results of the survey will be published in Thursday, 18 Novermber 2010.

1.      Does your party support the current plan to build the N2 Slane bypass on its present route?

2.      Does your party believe that the Slane bypass should take a different route, but go ahead in the coming Budget?

3.      Does your party believe that the Slane bypass should be scrapped in the coming Budget, and the HGV ban implemented instead?

4.      Does your party believe the 2007 commitment by the Irish Government to give £400m to the Northern Ireland authorities, for the A5 upgrade, should be included in the Budget?

5.      Does your party believe the €300m N2 Clontibret to the Border upgrade, which includes the bypass of the Monaghan bypass, should be included in the Budget?

We also welcome any further comment on these issues.

Thank you for your co-operation in this survey.

Vincent Salafia
Save Newgrange
Suite 108
The Capel Building
Mary’s Abbey
Dublin 9

(087)1323365

http://www.savenewgrange.org

Dear sir – The Bypass Slane Campaign (BSC) has repeatedly accused ‘commentators’ of being ‘ill-informed’, and spreading ‘misinformation’. So, let’s deal with the critical facts here, regarding the proposed Slane bypass.

The first fact is that it has been Meath County Council, acting as agents of the National Roads Authority (NRA), who have proven themselves lacking in the information department. That is why An Bord Pleanala forced them to publish additional information, and re-open public consultation. Submissions can now be made to An Bord Pleanala until 15th October. All the previously withheld information on the proposed bypass, including; the western route options; the potential impact on Brú na Bóinne; archaeological reports on the 44 impacted sites; and the relationship of the bypass to the N2 Ashbourne to Ardee project, is now available on the Meath County Council web site. Even the original Environmental Impact Statement, which was not available on their web site during the original consultation, is now available for download.

The second fact is that while the Fianna Fail leaders of BSC, Thomas Byrne TD and Cllr Wayne Harding have attacked ESRI economist Dr Edgar Morgenroth, for calling the bypass proposal ‘idiotic’, the fact of the matter is that the NRA agreed with Dr Morgenroth and cancelled the Slane Bypass in May 2009, on economic grounds. In a letter delivered to councillors at a Slane Electoral Area meeting, reported in this paper, the NRA said that it needed to concentrate on a number of other national projects which are seen as being “particularly important for regional development”. Because of this, and the continued uncertainty regarding public finances, the NRA regretted that “it is not possible at this time to provide funding for the construction of the N2 Slane Bypass.”

The third fact is that the HGV ban was approved unanimously by Meath County Councillors in April 2009, and the County Manager, Tom Dowling, is under a legal duty to implement it, as he was told in the Transport Committee hearing last year. Residents of Slane, including the Ban HGVs from Slane campaign led by Carina Mount Charles, have campaigned and protested for years for a HGV ban in the village. The Minister for Transport, and Fianna Fail TD for Meath, Noel Dempsey, was even reported in this paper in 2009 as promising to “actively implement” the HGV ban. But the HGVs still roll through the village at an alarming rate, endangering lives every day.

The fourth fact is that a bypass of Slane has already been constructed, at a cost of over half a billion euros to the taxpayer. It is called the M1 motorway, and lies about five miles to the east of the village. It runs along the eastern boundary of the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site, with a massive bridge over the Boyne, clearly visible from the Unesco site. Minister Dempsey and the Fianna Fail led BSC campaign would rather endanger lives in Slane on a daily basis than force the HGVs to use the road that was built for them, in order to unfairly pressurise An Bord Pleanala into approving a non-viable bypass, based on artificially inflated traffic volume.

Yours,

Vincent Salafia,
Save Newgrange,
Suite 108, The Capel Building,
Mary’s Abbey, Dublin 7.

Road lobbyists team up with southern counterparts

Londonderry Sentinel | 23 September 2010

A LOBBY group opposing the proposed A5 Western Transport Corridor (WTC) between Londonderry and Aughnacloy has teamed up with campaigners in Monaghan and Meath to oppose what it terms “ghost roads” on both sides of the border. Three campaign groups – the Alternative A5 Alliance (AA5A), Save Newgrange (SN) and Don’t By the Bypass (DBTB) – working on different sections of the proposed M2/A5 motorway, which will eventually run from Dublin to Londonderry, have now joined force

AA5A is challenging the need for the upgrade of the A5 primary route, from the border to Londonderry, which at 55 miles will be the longest single road project ever undertaken in Northern Ireland. Authorities on both sides of the border are planning this section of the road together, and the Irish Government has committed to pay for a share of it.

Lynne Smyth, Secretary of the Alternative A5 Alliance said: “The Alternative A5 Alliance is delighted to be able to cooperate with the other campaign groups along the route of this proposed road. Together we must alert the people of Ireland to the catastrophe these ‘ghost roads’ will cause. “This is not the time to be tarmacing over our farmland and natural habitat. It is time to seek a sustainable transport option which will serve our future needs as well as that of our grandchildren – as they will be paying for it.

Noel Murphy, a spokesman for Don’t Bypass the Bypass, said: “Its great to be working in co-operation with the other groups, and we need to remain so going forward.”

Vincent Salafia of Save Newgrange said: “We are delighted to have North-South co-operation between our community groups along the proposed M2/A5. The people of Northern Ireland should have a say in what happens to the Brú na Bóinne Unesco World Heritage Site, since they are being asked to pay for part of the road that will severely impact it. We welcome the intervention of Dr Edgar Morgenroth, associate economist with the ESRI, who said the N2 plans are ‘idiocy,’ and called for the HGV ban to be implemented in Slane. Minister Dempsey must act now to both save lives in Slane, and stop wasting taxpayers’ money on ‘ghost roads’.”

Meath Chronicle | Wednesday, 22nd September, 2010
Profile by Ann Casey

Additional information on the proposed Slane Bypass is now on public display, following a request earlier this year from An Bord Pleanala for further information on the scheme. The information is on display in County Hall in Navan, Meath County Council’s Road Design office at Navan Enterprise Centre and at the Civic Offices at Main Street, Duleek, until 15th October. Submissions on the scheme must be forwarded to An Bord Pleanala by 15th October.

Cllr Wayne Harding said the proposal for the Slane Bypass could only be enhanced with public input and the more information that is available to people, the better. “People will now have the opportunity to make submissions to An Bord Pleanala as the public information requested by them will go on display until 15th October,” he said. “It is vital that we get the best possible bypass for Slane as it will have a huge impact on the village and the wider Boyne Valley area.” Cllr Harding pointed out that the people of Slane had campaigned long and hard for the bypass, so it was essential that it is progressed without delay. “The safety issues are well documented with the dangers of heavy vehicles going through the village very evident. A bypass would give peace of mind to residents and visitors to the village, but would also benefit local business as additional people would be encouraged to travel to the village in the absence of congestion and dangerous roads. This is another step on the way to the most important piece of infrastructure that Slane village has had since its foundation 250 years ago,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Save Newgrange campaign welcomed the new public consultation for the N2 Slane bypass. Vincent Salafia of Save Newgrange said: “This is a victory for the public who were not given the full information in relation to this grandiose proposal, and yet who are expected to foot the bill. “We will be waging an international campaign over the next month, particularly in Northern Ireland, to get as many objections has possible filed with An Bord Pleanala. Dr Edgar Morgenroth of the ESRI has called this plan an ‘idiotic’ waste of taxpayer’s money, and we hope more experts like him will make now make submissions. “In the meantime, we are demanding that Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, keep his promise to ‘actively facilitate’ the HGV ban in Slane, which was unanimously voted for by county councillors in April 2009,” Mr Salafia added.

WRITE LETTER TO EDITOR ken@meathchronicle.ie

SAVE NEWGRANGE – PRESS RELEASE – 16 September 2010

‘New consultation on N2 Slane bypass a victory for the public’

Save Newgrange welcomes the new public consultation for the N2 Slane bypass, which is proposed to run 500m from the Brú na Bóinne UNESCO World Heritage Site, and impact over 44 associated archaeological sites as well as a candidate Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

An Bord Pleanala (ABP) has ordered Meath County Council (MCC) to publish additional information, and re-open the public consultation for fresh submissions, due to the submission of an incomplete Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) by MCC last December.

MCC will publish a new public notice in national newspapers tomorrow, Friday, 17th September, giving the public until Friday 15th October to make submissions to ABP.  The original consultation had closed on 25 February 2010.

The additional information relates to:

• Archaeological and geophysical reports on investigations carried out
• Whether any alternative route, west of the village, had been considered
• Relationship to N2 Ashbourne and Ardee project (suspended)
• Alternative designs for the proposed Boyne bridge, which is visible from the World Heritage Site

The additional information being published by MCC comes in response to a letter from ABP to MCC in June, asking for this information, “in order to clarify certain points in the EIS and assist the Board’s assessment of the likely effects on the environment of the proposed road development.”  The information was requested after complaints were made to An Bord Pleanala by Save Newgrange and others that the EIS and public consultation were flawed.

Vincent Salafia of Save Newgrange said:

“This is a victory for the public, who were not given the full information in relation to this grandiose proposal, and yet who are expected to foot the bill.  We will be waging an international campaign, over the next month, particularly in Northern Ireland, to get as many objections has possible filed with An Bord Pleanala.

“Dr Edgar Morgenroth of the ESRI has called this plan ‘idiotic’, and we hope more experts like him will make now make submissions.  In the meantime, we are demanding that Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, keep his promise to ‘actively facilitate’ the HGV ban in Slane, which was unanimously voted for by County Councillors in April 2009.

ENDS

Contact: Siobhain Rice 086-734-2070
Vincent Salafia 087-132-3365

FURTHER INFORMATION:

Letter from ABP to MCC asking for additional information – June 16 2010

An Bord Pleanla file on N2 Slane bypass

Meath Chronicle – Minister for Transport, Dempsey promises to “actively facilitate” HGV ban

Irish Times – 14 June 2010 – Appeals board to look at Slane bypass

Meath Chronicle – Letters | Wednesday, 8th September, 2010

Dear sir – Slane needs a dual-carriageway bypass (built to motorway standard) like Minister Dempsey needed the (larger) Government jet to go to summer school in Derry. It needs it like County Meath needs three parallel motorways; the M1, M2 and M3, passing within 15 miles of each other with Slane bang in the middle.

The Minister for Meath, Noel Dempsey’s local Fianna Fail underlings, Thomas Byrne, TD, and Cllr Wayne Harding, were, however, correct in saying that powerful forces from outside County Meath were attempting to stop the Slane bypass going ahead. These ominous forces are called taxpayers – occasionally also known as voters – who reside in overrun villages and counties all across Ireland. They are being told they have to pay for this bypass, while many of their own roads’ badly needed improvements were put on hold by Minister Dempsey last December. Even the N2 Ashbourne to Ardee project, which will run through Slane, has been put on hold.

Now, we see hospital services in Navan being curtailed, as part of the radical cuts taking place nationwide. How many lives are now at risk as a result? Wouldn’t the €100 million-plus cost of the bypass be better spent keeping Navan hospital in full operation?

Transport economist Dr Edgar Morgenroth, associate professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute, is right to call the Slane bypass plan idiotic, and no better man to complain to the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) if the bypass goes ahead as planned. Gold-plated, as Dr Morgenrath called it, pork-barrel spending like this is what the C&AG watchdog was designed to hunt down and kill.

The Bypass Slane Campaign, which operates out of Cllr Harding’s offices in Slane, has criticised Dr Morgenroth for threatening to exercise his right to complain. They would have us believe that the current bypass plan is the only viable alternative to stopping the HGVs rat-running through Slane every day, to avoid the M1 toll. If the HGVs were gone, there would be no danger in Slane.

Dr Morgenrath wrote in The Irish Economy blog on 1st March:

“The simple, cheap and obvious solution to the problem of HGVs going through Slane is to ban them from doing so…This would also avoid all the hassle of forcing a major construction project through an area rich in archaeological sites and historic significance. However, Meath County Manager Tom Dowling has refused to implement the ban, which Meath County Councillors voted for in early 2009.”

If Deputy Byrne, Cllr Harding and the Bypass Slane Campaign are sincerely alarmed at lives at risk on the roads throughout the village every day, they should be demanding that Noel Dempsey behave like the Minister for Transport and force the county manager to immediately implement the HGV ban, like we are.

Yours,

Vincent Salafia,
Save Newgrange,
The Capel Building,
Mary’s Abbey,
Co Dublin.

READ THE RESPONSE BY BYPASS SLANE CAMPAIGN HERE

The Slane bypass is ‘idiotic’ says ERSI economist

Dr Edgar Morgenroth, Associate Research Professor with the Economic and Social Research Centre (ESRI), believes the Slane bypass is “idiotic”. On 24 April 2009 he wrote an Opinion piece for The Irish Times called ‘Cuts in capital spending need not mean fewer projects‘ in which he argued the challenge for the public service is to negotiate hard for reduced tender prices. Of the N2 Slane bypass he said:

Of course, not all planned infrastructure projects were good projects to start with and some should certainly be abandoned. It is remarkable that there are plans to facilitate the avoidance of the toll on the M1 by building a bypass around Slane involving the expensive construction of a bridge over the river Boyne when a simple HGV ban would solve the local traffic problems.

This expert advice was submitted to An Bord Pleanala, by Save Newgrange, as part of their submission for the planning process, in February 2010. Since then, Dr Morgenroth has written two posts in The Irish Economy blog, saying the N2 Slane bypass is a waste of taxpayers’ money. The first post, 1 March 2010, was entitled ‘Wasting money on roads?‘ and said:

The simple, cheap and obvious solution to the problem of HGVs going through Slane is to ban them from doing so, as I argued in May 2009. This would also avoid all the hassle of forcing a major construction project through an area rich in archaeological sites and historic significance.

The follow-up post, published 25 August 2010, was entitled simply ‘Wasting money on roads‘, wherein Dr Morgenroth said:

Unfortunately gold-plating of projects is not unusual. In the ESRI Mid-Term Evaluation of NDP 2000-2006 we pointed out that “roads with capacity of 55,500 AADT, or anywhere near it, appear to be a significant overdesign for the numerous lightly-trafficked sections of the N8 and N9″. Such schemes cannot pass a reasonable cost-benefit analysis when compared to more appropriately sized schemes.

Unfortunately, the lesson does not seem to have been learned and the tax payer is expected to pay for overdesign again (the fact that some of the schemes are PPPs is irrelevant here as these also have to be paid for by tax payers).

Take the example of the N2, for which there are two proposed schemes in the system. I have already referred to the idiotic scheme to by-pass Slane where the key issue could be simply dealt with via a HGV ban.

Dr Morgenroth’s August blog post was picked up in The Irish Times, by Frank McDonald on 26 August – ‘Planned Slane bypass ‘idiotic’, says transport expert‘.

PLANS FOR a dual-carriageway to bypass the village of Slane, Co Meath, have been described as “idiotic” by Dr Edgar Morgenroth, associate professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute.

Dr Morgenroth, who is the institute’s programme co-ordinator for research on transport and infrastructure, said he would be making a formal complaint to the Comptroller and Auditor General if An Bord Pleanála approved the current proposal.

He also said plans by the National Roads Authority for a 27- kilometre dual-carriageway between Clontibret, Co Monaghan, and the Border at Aughnacloy, Co Tyrone, amounted to “total overkill, especially since Monaghan has already been bypassed”.

Bypass Slane Campaign response

It wasn’t long before the Fianna Fail press office got working on the issue, and decided to take a pro-local ‘Up Meath’ stance, getting their local TD, Thomas Byrne and Cllr. Wayne Harding into the papers again in the 28 August Irish Times - ‘Powerful forces’ trying to stop Slane bypass – TD:

Dr Morgenroth described the proposed bypass as “idiotic” and warned he would make a formal complaint to the Comptroller and Auditor General if An Bord Pleanála approved the current proposal.

The board, which is considering the matter, has asked Meath County Council to supply detailed additional information on the bypass, including whether any alternative route west of the village had been examined.

Mr Byrne said Dr Morgenroth’s opinion “smack[ed] of unwarranted interference” in the board’s independence and was highly inappropriate.

This is a completely unfounded argument, since Dr Morgenroth had clearly made his opinions known about the bypass in The Irish Times on 23 April 2009.

The Bypass Slane Campaign is seen as a real vote-getting cow in Slane, and across Meath; so much so that it is run out of Cllr. Wayne Harding’s pub/constituency office in Slane. A member of the campaign had a letter published in The Irish Times, on 30 August – Planned Slane bypass ‘idiotic’.

As residents of Slane, we find it unacceptable that we are expected to put our lives at risk on the roads throughout our village every day. The Slane bypass is the only viable alternative to solving this problem once and for all.

The pro-Fianna Fail Meath Chronicle ignored the press release from Save Newgrange, and published an article on 1 September 2010, entitled, ‘Powerful forces’ from outside county trying to sabotage bypass, which quoted Cllr Harding as saying:

“While it is everyone’s democratic right to object to the Slane bypass, among the objectors are quite a number of barristers and senior counsel living on the south side Of Dublin.

This is, of course, completely untrue, and there is in fact strong opposition locally to the proposed bypass, including former Attorney General, Mr John Rogers, SC – as The Irish Times reported on 17 February 2010 – Ex-attorney general among objectors to Slane bypass near prehistoric sites.

FORMER ATTORNEY general John Rogers SC, who lives in the Boyne valley, will be among the objectors to plans by Meath County Council and the National Roads Authority (NRA) to build a bypass of Slane 500 metres from the Brú na Bóinne archaeological complex. The proposed route, running east of Slane, is being opposed by the newly formed Save Newgrange campaign, led by Vincent Salafia, who was prominent in the protracted struggle against the M3 motorway because of its proximity to the Hill of Tara.

HISTORY OF THE FUNDING OF THE N2 SLANE BYPASS

The decision to fund the Slane bypass has been a purely political one, which flies in the face of the NRA’s own decision to withdraw funding from it, as well as expert economic and archaeological advice. The bypass is being funded by Irish and EU taxpayers money, to actually contribute to the Fianna Fail local and General Election campaign strategy.

The economic argument for the Bypass has been blown apart by Dr Morgenroth of the ESRI, who is a specialist in transport, makes very sound economic arguments against the bypass. He supports the same low cost solution that the locals of Slane campaigned, and even protested for – the HGV ban. The NRA had come to the same conclusion in late May 2009 – that the Bypass was not viable – but then changed their mind, after a visit by Taoiseach Brian Cowen to Slane that very week, during the Fianna Fail election campaign. Since then, in December 2009, Minister Dempsey has cut other more important roads projects across the country, including the N2 Ashbourne to Ardee upgrade to dual carriageway through Meath – but the Slane bypass is proceeding.

Now that Fianna Fail have reversed their decision to fund the bypass, for their own political reasons, not only is the HGV ban not good enough, but funding for the bypass is being demanded on the basis of ‘saving lives’, even as Fianna Fail is pulling funding from Navan hospital and services are being shut down. Badly needed roads projects are being ‘suspended’ all around the country, where there is no such cheaper alternative alternative available like there is with the HGV ban in Slane, Meanwhile, Fianna Fail can be sure that the more local and national press the bypass issue gets, the more free publicity they get. It is almost tempting to say they intentionally routed the bypass close to Bru na Boinne, in order to stir up this very controversy – so they posture at every chance they get. But the bottom line is that the NRA says it wants the bypass for “economic reasons”, and it is now clear those reasons don’t stand up.

TIME-LINE of EVENTS

FUNDING WITHDRAWN – THEN RESTORED TO SLANE BYPASS

4 April 2009 – Locals protest for HGV ban in Slane

Locals have protested for the need for a HGV ban in Slane for a number of years. On 04 April, 2009, RTE reported that local protests had stopped traffic in the village of Slane:

Around 70 protestors blocked traffic through Slane this morning to highlight their campaign to have heavy goods vehicles banned from the Co Meath village.

9 April 2009 – Councillors unanimously vote for HGV ban

A few days later, on 9 April 2009, Meath County Councillors voted to implement a Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) ban in Slane – as reported in the Meath Chronicle story entitled – Slane pile up: Cllrs take first step to ban HGVs. This should have immediately brought a halt to the 1,200 trucks a day passing through Slane, but it hasn’t because the democratic will of the councillors have been thwarted.

The motion to ban HGVs travelling north-south through the village was put to the floor and unanimously passed. Standing orders were suspended at Monday”s council meeting to discuss the issue and a motion put forward by Cllr Ann Dillon Gallagher calling for trucks travelling north-south through the village to be banned received the unanimous support of her fellow councillors.

9 April 2009 – Minister Dempsey says he will “actively facilitate” HGV ban in Slane

The Meath Chronicle also reported on 9 April 2009 that Minister Noel Dempsey said that the Department of Transport and National Roads Authority “would actively facilitate a HGV ban in the village“. However, the ban has not yet been implemented. The Bypass Slane Campaign sprang up immediately, designed to actually ‘campaign’ against the HGV ban. This would get Dempsey off the hook for ordering the bypass, despite the fact the NRA had decided to pull funding from it.

April 2009 – Bypass Slane Campaign Forms

The Bypass Slane Campaign is led by Fianna Fail Cllr Wayne Harding, who was elected in the June 2009 elections, and Thomas Byrne, TD for Meath. The group had been hurriedly formed in April 2009, a month before the elections, and the address of the group is the Village Inn in Slane, the premises owned and operated by Cllr Harding, who also uses it for his constituency office.

Crosses commemorating those killed on the roads around Slane at the bottom of Mill Hill are refurbished and a new explanatory sign is added.

25 May 2009 – Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Dempsey meet Bypass Slane Campaign

The leader of Fianna Fail, Taoiseach, Brian Cowen was welcomed to Slane on 25 May 2oo9 by Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, and his local Fianna Fail allies, Thomas Byrne TD and Cllr-to-be Wayne Harding. This was part of the Fianna Fail European and local election campaign. The Taoiseach’s arrival is proudly proclaimed in Cllr Harding’s blog (see him pictured with Cowen and Bypass Slane) – Harding welcomes Taoiseach meeting with Slane Bridge protest group:

The Taoiseach came to Slane to support the candidates running in the local elections in Meath and South Louth.

While here the Taoiseach and the Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey took time to speak to representatives of the Slane Bridge protest group.

I along with Thomas Byrne TD have kept the Taoiseach informed of the very dangerous situation in Slane with the Bridge and how a HGV ban for the town is essential and urgent.

I have been actively involved with protesting against HGVs because I know as a local business man and father of a young child the daily danger that the residents and visitors to the town are exposed to.

The proposal to ban HGVs from Slane is now with Meath County Council and it is vital that they come to a positive conclusion very quickly.

By July they were members of the group were rounded up at short notice and bussed up to Dublin to give a presentation to the Oireachtas Committee on Transport on 15 July.

27 May 2009 – NRA tells councillors no funding for bypass

The NRA then informed Slane councillors by letter that there was no funding for the bypass in a 20 May 2009 meeting with Slane Electoral Area councillors, which was reported in The Meath Chronicle on 27 May 2009- . Incredulity in Slane as NRA says no funds for bypass:

In its explanation for a pause in progress on the construction of a bypass – delivered to councillors at the Slane Electoral Area meeting last Wednesday – the NRA said the Government”s national transport infrastructure investment programme, Transport 21, provided the framework for the development of the national road network over the 10-year period from 2006 to 2015. It said that, under the plan, the initial focus of the authority”s programme of works would concentrate on the completion of the five major inter-urban routes linking Dublin to Cork, Waterford, Limerick, Galway and Northern Ireland (via the M1) to motorway/high quality carriageway standard.

The plan anticipated the completion of these routes in their entirety by the end of 2010. Transport 21 also envisaged significant development of other key national primary roads, including the N2, N3, N4, N5, N21, N22, N24, N25 and N30, the Atlantic Road Corridor from Letterkenny through Sligo, Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford, as well as a number of national secondary routes which were identified in the plan as being particularly important for regional development, it said. Because of this, and the continued uncertainty regarding public finances, the NRA regretted that ‘it is not possible at this time to provide funding for the construction of the N2 Slane Bypass’.

The Minutes of the Slane Electoral Area May Monthly Meeting, which took place at the Chamber Duleek Civic Offices on Wednesday 20thMay 2009, states as follows:

7.0 Correspondence / Issues raised by the Area Manager

The following items of correspondence were circulated and noted by the Members:

7.1 Letter from NRA stating in essence that it was not possible to provide funding at this stage for the construction of the N2 Slane Bypass.

The Members unanimously expressed extreme disappointment with the contents of this letter. Cllr Cudden suggested that that the five area Members contact the area’s TDs and Senator in an effort to progress the delivery of this vital piece of infrastructure.

The Area Manager advised the Members that they raise this issue at the Full Council meeting to discuss the Slane LAP on the 25th May.

9 July 2009 – County Manager announces he cannot implement the HGV ban

On 09 July 2010 The Meath Chronicle reported that the County Manager, Tom Dowling, said he could not implement the ban, for commercial and legal reasons, according to a ‘report’ circulated to councillors, on the implications of the HGV ban:

The banning of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) from the streets of Slane could have huge financial consequences for Meath County Council in terms of possible exposure to legal claims, delays to deliveries and business frustration, a council official said this week. The report reaches the conclusion that the banning of HGVs would have national and international implications and, if implemented, could have serious consequences for the council in terms of possible legal exposure, delivery delays and business frustration. ‘

As it is the general duty of the NRA under the Roads Act to secure the provision of a safe and effective network of national roads, it is considered the responsibility of the NRA to have the above mentioned study carried out in order to ascertain the full impacts that such a ban would have on Slane, the county in general, and settlements and infrastructure in other jurisdictions.

It should be noted that Meath County Council is fully supportive of a HGV ban in the village and is willing to work with the NRA in the implementation of whatever proposals that emerge from the study.’

15 July 2009 – NRA announces reversal of Slane bypass decision

On that day, The NRA announced to the Transport Committee that they had changed their mind and wished to proceed with the N2 Slane Bypass, as planned:

The National Roads Authority believes that Slane should be bypassed on economic, environmental and safety grounds. The planning is well advanced and the compulsory purchase order, CPO, and environmental impact statement, EIS, documentation will be available to submit to An Bord Pleanála by October this year. Subject to Department of Finance approval, CPO and EIS applications will be submitted to An Bord Pleanála as soon as the documentation is ready.

This was a complete turn-around by the NRA, and there is no doubt that there has been an intervention at Cabinet level, to secure the funding for the bypass.

15 July 2009 – Oireachtas Transport Committee member tells County Manager he has a legal duty to implement the HGV ban

On 15 July 2009, Meath County Manager, Tom Dowling, made a presentation to the Oireachtas Committee on Transport, along with the NRA and Bypass Slane campaign, alleging that the HGV ban in Slane would be unworkable:

A resolution to implement a ban on HGVs travelling north-south through Slane on the N2 was passed by the elected members at the council meeting on 6 April 2009.

A report was circulated to the full council on 6 July 2009 on the potential implications that such a ban would have and I fully support the elected representatives in their desire to ban HGVs through Slane. However, it would be remiss of me not to draw attention to the fact that whereas the banning of HGVs from Slane will resolve some of the problems associated with the inadequacy of the existing route, it may well create a multiplicity of other problems.

These will have wide ranging impacts which will extend beyond the borders of County Meath, largely because of the need to give HGV drivers, who would otherwise pass through Slane, sufficient warning so that they can plan alternative routes.

The banning of HGVs in Slane may have wider implications which could have serious consequences for Meath County Council in terms of possible legal exposure, delivery delays and business frustration. These should not be dismissed lightly and could also apply to other affected local authorities and agencies. Apart from the impact on the local commercial interests, any restriction of HGVs through Slane could bring significant local difficulties for the residents along other roads, villages and towns that diverted vehicles would use to avoid Slane and minimise journey times.

In addition, the use of these local roads by HGVs could result in the rapid and serious deterioration of the local road infrastructure and increase the risk of accidents. Consequently, it is vital to consider this matter carefully and to ensure that whatever we do will be done in the proper manner.

Then Fine Gael Spokesperson on Transport, Deputy Fergus O’Dowd, said:

A resolution has been passed by the county council. As the elected Members have called for it, notwithstanding everything the county manager said, I presume the position is he must effect that policy now.

The County Manager responded that “Obviously it is a reserved function to pass the resolution and so on, which has been done. While the resolution has been passed, members are aware that one must find a way to implement such a resolution.” Deputy O’Dowd responded:

However, the law states the local authority must do it. It does not have a choice because the council has passed a resolution and its officials must carry that through.

The County Manager is clearly acting illegally in refusing to implement the HGV ban.

8 December 2009 – Dempsey cuts national roads programme – not Slane bypass

On 8 December 2009, with the financial crisis deepening, the Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, announced that there were to be severe cuts to the national roads programme – as reported on 9 December 2009, The Irish Times – Major road plans put on hold due to cutbacks.

MORE THAN a decade of budget allocations to begin major road schemes is expected to come to a close today, when reductions in annual funding for the National Roads Authority (NRA) are announced by Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan. For the first time since December 1999 the roads authority is not planning to match its budget allocation with early announcements of new road schemes to go to construction within 12 months.

The N2 Ahsbourne to Ardee, which is to link on both north and south ends of the Slane bypass, was “suspended,” but the bypass itself has miraculously kept its funding.

15 December 2010 – Public consultation for Slane bypass begins

The following week, on 15 December 2009, a public notice announcing the selection of the preferred route for the N2 Slane bypass, and the Compulsory Purchase Order for the land along the route, was published in national newspapers. No opposition whatsoever was reported in the media.

21 January 2010 – RTE reports ‘Slane bypass would run close to Newgrange’

In fact, the Slane bypass story didn’t even make it into the national news until a month after the public notice appeared on 15 December, when RTE reported on it on 21 January 2010 – Slane bypass would run close to Newgrange.

The National Roads Authority has given details of plans for the new Slane bypass, which would be built 500m from the World Heritage Site at Newgrange. While the plan has been welcomed locally, it is expected that there will be controversy.

Even An Taisce, the (so-called) Tational Trust for Ireland, were quoted in The Irish Times on 22nd of January as supporting the route.

Brian Taylor, spokesman for An Taisce in Meath and a resident of Slane said: “I’d be very reluctant about anything that might hold up that road. It has been several years in the offing and it has gone through numerous public presentations and the route chosen appears to be the least offensive [one].”

The Irish Times also reported that:

THE NATIONAL Roads Authority has confirmed that the proposed route of the bypass of Slane village will pass some 500 metres “from the perimeter” of the buffer zone of the Brú na Bóinne Unesco World Heritage Site. The road, which will be a dual carriageway, will have “the least impact” taking all factors into consideration, including the archaeology and heritage of the area, a spokesman said.

Clearly, the initial publicity about the bypass was stirred by the pro-Bypass campaign and Fianna Fail – as well as the NRA – not the objectors, as one would have expected. None had yet appeared publicly, nor were any quoted in any initial media reports.

22 January – Save Newgrange campaign begins.

The Save Newgrange campaign was immediately launched on 22 January 2010 when Professor George Eogan, Professor Emeritus at University College Dublin, expressed outrage at the preferred route of the proposed bypass – and made a submission to An Bord Pleanala., in late January 2010. He said:

If this plan goes ahead, it will have a significant impact on the landscape and will result in the World Heritage Site being boxed in between two motorways, the M1 and the M2.

500 metres is simply too close, and it is conceivable that Newgrange could lose its World Heritage Status, if this plan goes ahead, like Dresden did last summer.

They should simply ban HGVs from the town. There is simply no need to spend all this money or to do all this damage.

A letter to the Editor of The Irish Times, on 26 January 2o10, by Vincent Salafia , refuted the claims made by the NRA, that the proposed route would have “the least impact”, saying:

This is not true and there is no doubt that a western bypass would have a much lesser impact, as the proposed dual carriageway will sever the World Heritage Site from the village of Slane, and box it in between the M2 motorway and a dual carriageway.

Dr Edgar Morgenroth, associate research professor and co-ordinator of the Transport and Infrastructure Research Programme at the Economic and Social Research Institute noted: “It is remarkable that there are plans to facilitate the avoidance of the toll on the M1 by building a bypass around Slane involving the expensive construction of a bridge over the river Boyne when a simple HGV ban would solve the local traffic problems” (Opinion, April 24th, 2009).

Meath councillors voted in 2009 “to ban HGVs going through Slane because of the dangerous and steep incline from the bridge on the N2 into the village.” (Home News, July 16th, 2009).

The county manager has failed implement the ban, which would have been the solution with the “least impact”. The next best option would have been a western bypass, but instead the NRA has chosen the route with the most impact.

A Facebook group was set up, and went over 5,000 members in one week. A new Facebook page has now been set up for increased traffic.

17 February 2010 – Submissions made to An Bord Pleanala

Save Newgrange included the comments made by Dr Morgenroth regarding the lack of sound economic basis for the N2 Slane bypass in their submission to An Bord Pleanala, made on 17 February 2010. An Bord Pleanala was already legally on notice of the expert opinion of Dr Morgenroth, long before he repeated those comments in his August blog, which were then re-reported as news. More critically, the Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, the NRA, and Meath County Council were also on legal notice of his expert opinion, before the decision was made to re-allocate funding was made in May 2009. Certainly, long before the NRA and Meath County Council decided to proceed with the CPO and publish the route, in December 2009.

12 March 2010 – Fianna Fail Oireachtas Press Office makes false press release

Suzanne Collins, Byrne, who works in Fianna Fail “HQ” press office at the Oireachtas, sent out a press release on the afternoon of Friday, 12 March, 2010, entitled, ‘Byrne expresses disappointment at High Court challenge to Slane Bypass’. The release condemned Save Newgrange spokesman, Vincent Salafia, for supposedly launching a legal action that very day. However, there was no such legal action taken, or announced by Mr Salafia or anyone associated with the Save Newgrange campaign.

For immediate release
12 March 2010

Byrne expresses disappointment at High Court challenge to Slane Bypass

Meath East Fianna Fail TD Thomas Byrne has expressed his disappointment at the High Court challenge to the Slane Bypass.

“The Slane Bypass will be subject to a High Court challenge on Monday the 15th of March, enforcing yet another delay on progressing the project.”

“The challenge is being led by Vincent Salafia who also objected to the M3 motorway. Mr. Salafia is objecting on the grounds that the planned Slane Bypass would pass too close to the Newgrange site.”

“This is inaccurate. The planned bypass would pass close to the buffer zone that protects Newgrange. The Slane Bypass is no threat to Newgrange.”

“Slane urgently needs a bypass. It is a matter of road safety,” concluded Deputy Byrne.

ENDS

The story broke and was featured on RTE Drive Time radio show that afternoon, with Mr Salafia being and the Save Newgrange campaign being condemned for taking legal action. This story was a pure fabrication by the Fianna Fail press office. No action or announcement by Vincent Salafia had ever been made in relation to filing a legal action. When asked to explain the release, Ms Collins said it was a ‘mistake’.

After his election to TD in 2007, Thomas Byrne thanked Suzanne Collins, along with the press staff of the Fianna Fail; press office:

FF HQ top brass Sean Dorgan, Charlie McConalogue, Olivia Buckley, and PJ Mara and Suzanne Collins did their bit. PJ addressed me three months ago as “Future Deputy Byrne”, so there was pressure!

14 June 2010 – Planning board seeks further information on western route and Bru na Boinne

It was reported on 14 June 2010 in The Irish Times that An Bord Pleanála considering an alternative route for Slane bypass west of village, after asking for further information on certain aspects of the Environmental Impact Statement, which were not considered complete, by the board:

The council, which is acting as agent for the National Roads Authority, has now been asked to furnish 12 points of additional information to “clarify” its environmental impact statement (EIS), to assist the appeals board in adjudicating on the scheme.

Seeking details of any alternative route, the board said: “If such a route has not been examined, a desktop study and drawings are required of a potential route to the west of Slane to the same level of detail as the routes examined [but not chosen].”

Referring to a statement in the EIS that the route selection for the Slane bypass “has been influenced by its potential for future inclusion in a longer [dual-carriageway] route between Ashbourne and Ardee, the board wants more information on this plan.

“The non-technical summary of the EIS should be expanded to include an illustration of the proposed bridge, a map showing alternative routes considered for the road and a map/aerial photograph showing the route in relation to the world heritage site”.

It is also seeking details – “with drawings as appropriate” – of alternative designs examined for the proposed bridge over the Boyne, which has been criticised by objectors as unnecessarily intrusive in the context of the landscape of Brú na Bóinne.

2 July 2010 – Lord Henry Mountcharles condemns western route for bypass 500m from Slane Castle

So, instead of passing within 500m of Bru na Boinne, UNESCO World Heritage Site, the N2 Slane bypass may now pass to the west of the village, within 500m of Slane Castle – much to the chagrin of Lord Henry Mountcharles, concert promoter and owner of Slane Castle.

He was quoted in The Irish Times on 2 July 2010 as saying:

“If they think I am a pushover they have another thing coming. ” According to Sir Henry serious questions have to be answered about “a planning process that can take us back to stage one again and delay the building of the road.Meath County Council discounted this route years ago based on its feasibility study. To propose this now is nothing short of lunacy.”

So, it is OK for the bypass to run 500m from a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but it is not OK to run the same road 500m from a field belonging to an English castle?

5 July 2010 – More cuts to national roads programme, but not Slane bypass

More severe cuts were made to the national roads programme, in July 2010. The Irish Independent reported on 06 July 2010, Key road and rail projects axed as money runs out:

FORTY major road projects and key rail and Luas projects have been scrapped because there is no money to build them. The National Roads Authority (NRA) has run out of money to build the 40 roads, which include bypasses and dual carriageways. It has been “directed” by the Government not to build the remaining rest areas along motorways, sources revealed. The axed projects will be confirmed in a government mid-term review of the National Development Plan (NDP), which is expected to be completed within weeks.

The mid-term review of the NDP has not taken place. But it is important to put the NDP into perspective, along with the roads programme – Coalition to dangle a €175bn vote-getter – Irish Independent - 22 January 2007.

2 September 2010 – Fianna Fail to close Navan hospital

Even the dogs on the streets of Navan have known since 2007 that Fianna Fail plans to close Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan, Co Meath; when staff were told that Surgery services are to cease immediately, and A&E and Psychiatric services will go before 2012. On 2 September 2010, the Health Service Executive (HSE) announced that all acute and emergency surgery was to end at Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan, with immediate effect.

The move was criticized on an economic basis by Dr Muiris Houston in The Irish Times, who said the Navan move may only offer short-term savings.

CONCLUSION

Bypass Slane campaign is a Fianna Fail election cow

The pro-Slane bypass campaign in County Meath is being orchestrated by Fianna Fail – and the mailing address is: “Bypass Slane Campaign, c/o Slane Community Forum, The Village Inn, Slane, Co. Meath.” Cllr Harding’s address, listed on his web site, is: “The Village Inn, Main Street, Slane , Co. Meath” The Meath Chronicle, election profile for Mr Harding states:

Runs his family pub, The Village Inn, in heart of Slane village. Married with one son. Secretary of Slane Community Forum, which aims to promote and develop the community of Slane in a positive and proactive manner. Former chairman of Slane GFC. Says aim is to ensure people of Slane Electoral Area are provided with employment, necessary services and clean environment.

The Bypass Slane campaign was dreamt up by Fianna Fail “HQ” Press Office, like people like Suzanne Collins and PJ Mara, to help elect Fianna Fail candidates in Meath, like Wayne Harding, in the June 2009 local elections, and is seen as a key facet of the upcoming 2012 General Election campaign for Meath Fianna Fail.

Don’t believe the hype.

This is an outrageous waste of taxpayers time and money. Who dictates transport policy in Ireland? The local Slane Fianna Fail Cumann or the Department of Transport? Dr Morgenroth advised against funding the Slane Bypass in The Irish Times in April 2004 2009, at the same time that the NRA informed Meath County Councillors that it was withdrawing funding from the project, because resources were needed for more nationally important road schemes. Somebody went against the advice of both Dr Morgenroth and the NRA, and decided to fund the bypass anyway. That was a political decision, in favour of Fianna Fail, not an economic one, made on solid economic or environmental grounds.

The Bypass Slane Campaign is not now campaigning to have the HGV ban introduced in Slane. In fact, they have been opposing it, ever since the day it was voted for. It is in fact what sparked their formation, as the decision to implement ban seemed to indicate that the bypass was not needed. In their submission to An Bord Pleanala they now state that they only want it implemented “in conjunction with the Bypass”. The next death or serious injury in Slane due to HGVs will be on their shoulders, along with Tom Dowling, the Meath County Manager and Noel Dempsey, the Minister for Meath.

Cllr. Nick Killian (right), with Taoiseach Brian Cowen and other Fianna Fail cronies in Slane, in May 2009 – just before the NRA decision to shelve the bypass was magically reversed

Incidentally, Nick Killian is now facing criminal assault charges in court