A new code of practice which aims to safeguard archaeological heritage and the wider environment, while allowing the National Roads Authority (NRA) to deliver on its road building programme, has been agreed by the NRA and the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands.
The code is to offset potential conflicts between development and conservation which can delay the road building under the National Development Plan.
Under the terms of the code the NRA has given a commitment to employ archaeologists on major road schemes. It has also agreed to carry out more detailed planning and early mitigation prior to the construction.
For its part, the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands will agree a system for archaeological monitoring and excavations with the NRA project archaeologists in order to ensure that proper standards are applied.
According to Mr Liam Connellan, chairman of the NRA, the authority, in conjunction with planning authorities, was trying to strike an appropriate balance between the need for a safer and more efficient road system and the protection of the environment, including archaeological heritage.
"The partnership approach that underpins the code of practice, and the practical measures it contains, will greatly assist the efforts to plan and construct roads projects with care and sensitivity for our archaeological heritage and the wider environment."
Mr Connellan added that he expected the monitored roadworks to add significantly to the store of information on archaeological heritage.
The Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera, said she accepted the need to see how best she could accommodate the roads projects to ensure the speedy delivery of the National Development Plan.
She said her role as Minister could be wrongly seen as one which was opposed to all development. She was acutely aware of the problems caused by the conflict between conservation and development but she believed that such conflict need not arise.
She added that the code would allow the impact of the "most extensive road development programme in the history of the State" to be mitigated.
"This should be viewed as an opportunity, not as a threat. For my part, I see that we will get a better understanding of our past and in doing so we will have the NRA, one of the largest developers in the State, taking a proactive approach in safeguarding our heritage."
