Environmentalists have made a last-minute plea for the suspension of work on the final leg of the M50 motorway in south Dublin which will destroy between 40 per cent and 80 per cent of the medieval Carrickmines Castle site.
The work is due to begin today.
Mr Tony Lowes of Friends of the Irish Environment said legislation aimed at preserving sites of historical importance was being disregarded in the case.
Under the 1994 Monuments Act, the Government was prohibited from consenting to the demolition of monuments without approval by the Oireachtas, and then only in "exceptional circumstances and after a full archaeological excavation," he said.
Calling for a Dáil debate on the matter before any further action is taken, Mr Lowes said he would also like to see the terms of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council's licence, which it was required to have under a 1930 Act, permitting it to interfere with a national monument.
Meanwhile, An Taisce said yesterday that the archaeological treasures at Carrickmines were the property of the State and their destruction was a criminal offence.
It said 35 per cent of the site remained unexcavated, adding that 75-80 per cent of the excavated area would be destroyed this morning unless the Government moved to address the issue.
The Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, has already stated his support for the roadworks although he claimed he was "not comfortable about it".
He estimated that about 60 per cent of the medieval site would be saved, and said some structures would be dismantled and reconstructed elsewhere.
But in a statement yesterday, An Taisce called on Mr Brennan and the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Mr Cullen, to suspend all work on the motorway until questions raised by the National Museum of Ireland on the competence of archaeological controls had been satisfactorily addressed.
