Measures to strengthen protection of archaeological heritage, rolling back a more liberal regime introduced by the 2004 National Monuments (Amendment) Act, are likely to emerge from a major review of archaeological policy and practice.
The review, commissioned by Minister for the Environment John Gormley, got under way yesterday with a wide-ranging seminar in the National Botanic Gardens attended by archaeologists and campaigners for a greater level of protection.
"Soon after entering office, I promised I would review archaeological policy and practice", he said, adding that the aim was to make policy towards protecting our archaeological heritage "the best there can be", drawing on experts both at home and abroad.
"I am resolute that when this process is finalised [by the middle of next year] we will have a policy in place which will be the best internationally and which will afford our very valuable built heritage the protection it so richly deserves", he said.
The primary focus of the review, Mr Gormley said, will be to examine whether national monuments legislation needs to be strengthened and how archaeological practices should be improved in the context of infrastructure development, such as major road schemes.
This has been prompted by Mr Gormley's realisation, following the discovery of the prehistoric Lismullin henge on the M3 motorway route near Tara, that there were "some gaps in how we deal with archaeological finds in certain circumstances".
In an issues paper posted on the Department of the Environment's new website (www.archaeology.ie) Mr Gormley said the aim of the current series of seminars was to give all stakeholders an opportunity to make their views known on the scope of the review.
Under the 1999 Framework and Principles for the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage, published by then minister Síle de Valera, the National Monuments Acts were to be "used to the fullest possible extent . . . to secure the protection of the archaeological heritage". The policy then laid down said there would be "a presumption in favour of the avoidance of developmental impacts on the archaeological heritage" and that the preservation in situ of sites and monuments was to be the "preferred option".
However, the 2004 amendment to National Monuments legislation, spearheaded by then minister for the environment Martin Cullen, significantly changed this policy to ensure that archaeology would not get in the way of major infrastructure development.
The review will also examine whether the current "very complex" system of registering monuments of archaeological, architectural, historical or other cultural interest should be replaced by a single list as the principal mechanism to protect them in the future.
