Complaints are being filed with the European Commission in Brussels claiming that the environmental impact statement on the controversial M3 tolled motorway was seriously flawed.
The complaints were drawn up by Mr Tom Prendiville, course director of applied environmental studies, at Liberties College, Dublin, and seven of his students in an attempt to stop the M3 running through the Tara-Skryne valley.
Mr Prendiville said he had been in contact with senior officials in the Commission's environment directorate to stress the urgency of the case.
More of his students are to be given an opportunity to file further complaints today. "We just completed a comprehensive study of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive, which states that alternatives have to be proposed to projects that may have a significant impact on environment or cultural heritage," he said.
"A viable alternative was proposed in 2000 outlining the least impact to the environment, archaeology and cultural heritage. This option was dismissed outright, thereby contravening the thrust of the EIA directive," Mr Prendiville said.
He was referring to a route selection report by consultants Halcrow Barry, commissioned by the National Roads Authority (NRA).
It showed that a route to the east of Skryne would be "the least intrusive" with "the least impact" archaeologically.
Apart from being "the least visually intrusive in terms of the Hill of Tara", this route emerged as the preferred option in terms of its impact on flora and fauna, after mitigation measures were taken, and "does not impact on any ecological sites".
The NRA maintains that a route east of Skryne would have "serious drawbacks in terms of its ability to serve traffic demand" as well as impacts on communities and the environment, with "dozens of homes" directly affected by it.
Kells Chamber of Commerce has put up posters in the town urging motorists to rally round the NRA and Meath County Council's €800 million motorway plan. "Sick of commuting four hours per day - support the M3!", they say.
But the Meath Archaeological Society has warned that the project "will be indefinitely delayed" due to its routing through the sensitive Tara landscape and "the inflexibility of its single-contract PPP [ public-private partnership] funding mechanism".
The society's secretary, Ms Julitta Clancy, said the contract meant that the contentious 15km section between Navan and Dunshaughlin "cannot be separated from the other sections, and the tolling and funding proposals would be unviable without it".
Following last week's visit to Tara by TDs and Senators, the Save the Tara-Skryne Valley campaign said an independent archaeological expert should now be engaged to assess the M3's impact.
The group intends to take a High Court judicial review against the Minister for the Environment, Mr Roche, if he authorises archaeological excavations along the contentious route.
The Minister has told The Irish Times that it was not within his power to significantly vary the route.
His role was to decide on whether to excavate the archaeological sites and how artefacts should be preserved.
While Mr Roche noted that the existing route had been "confirmed by Bord Pleanála", campaigners say he could block it by insisting that each archaeological site remain intact. This would force the NRA to devise an alternative.
