Three of the leading archaeological and academic experts on Tara are to claim before an Oireachtas committee today that the National Roads Authority (NRA) has failed to rebut their opinion that the proposed M3 motorway route will irrevocably damage part of the Tara archaeological complex.
The Oireachtas Environment Committee is due to take evidence from academic experts opposed to the routing of the M3 through the Tara/Skryne valley in Co Meath, as part of a wider hearing into the impact of the road on the national monument of Tara.
The NRA has said that the route does not affect the Tara site, as it is located more than a mile away from the Hill of Tara. Archaeologists working for the NRA have identified nearly 40 separate archaeological sites along the controversial section of the route, although the authority has said these are not of sufficient significance to necessitate a rerouting.
The issue is currently with the Minister for the Environment, Mr Roche, who is to decide on whether to grant licences for their excavation. If he doesn't, the road will have to be rerouted away from the valley.
In a joint submission, Dr Edel Bhreathnach, an early Irish historian, and her colleagues, archaeologists Mr Conor Newman and Mr Joe Fenwick, are to argue that such sites are part of a wider complex that makes up the Tara site.
The three, who have worked together on Tara for the last 15 years, have said that the NRA has made only traffic and economic arguments in favour of the route, and has never been able to disprove their research that the Tara site is much wider than one hill.
The three are also to ask the committee to seek the opinions of various State organisations, including the Heritage Council, the National Museum, and archaeologists at the Department of the Environment, who they say have remained "silent" on the debate.
Other submissions today are expected to focus on the legal aspects of the plan, and proposals to mount a legal challenge against the route, should it get the go-ahead. The committee is also due to take submissions from other groups opposed to the motorway route, along with experts from the National Roads Authority, including Save Tara/Skryne, which has collected 3,000 submissions from the public in opposition to the route, including singers Ronnie Drew and Shane McGowan.
The Oireachtas hearings come amid increasing controversy over the route, which is already becoming an issue for the forthcoming Meath by-election.
Local business and development groups have come out strongly in support of the current route.