ORIGINAL
COPY OF KILLIAN'S FRONT PAGE STORY PASTED BELOW:
Meath Chronicle,
Saturday July 07 2007
Council chairman rounds on objectors - Killian tells
protestors to "pack
their bags"
Joan Duignan
THE new chairman of
Meath County Council launched a stinging attack on
anti-M3 motorway
campaigners this week, accusing them of setting back
the economic
development of the county by five years.
In a strongly-worded attack that
sets the tone for his tenure at the
helm of the council, Colr Killian said
the people of Meath had been
ignored by "M3 opposition activists who are not
from Meath".
He said the motorway protesters must realise they live in a
democracy,
that the voters of County Meath, who voted for the main political
parties in the recent general election, showed a clear preference that
the M3 proceeded along its planned route.
"This treacherous opposition by
those who continuously oppose the M3
through the Tara-Skryne Valley must
pack their bags and vanish into the
night and find another cause to occupy
their lazy days," Colr Killian
said.
"All councillors elected by the
people of County Meath are proud and
sensitive to the history of our county.
We show respect and concern for
our ancient history. Today, we operate in a
county that continues to
grow in population, which requires services and
additional
infrastructure as we reach a population of 214,000 by 2013," said
the
new chairman.
The information on the M3 deliberately given to the
world's media by
what he termed "misguided opportunists" had set the
economic growth of
the county back by five years.
"The people of County
Meath have been also been ignored by M3 opposition
activists who are not
from Meath," he went on, adding that, as incoming
chairman, he was calling
on those who opposed the M3 to stand aside and
let the works go ahead
through the Tara-Skryne Valley.
"As this county develops its economic growth,
with the best
infrastructure that supports its residents and its business,
the
building of the M3 from Clonee to Kells is an essential part of that
development of this county and the future of its people," said the
Fianna Fail chairman.
In a further development in the M3 controversy, the
Government last week
appointed one of the most
vocal archaeologists
opposing the routing of the M3 through the
Tara-Skryne Valley to a special
committee on the Lismullin national
monument excavations by the Minister for
the Environment, John Gormley.
Dr Conor Newman, of the Department of
Archaeology in NUI Galway,
directed the Discovery Programme's Tara Survey
and is widely recognised
as a leading expert on the archaeology of Tara and
the 'royal' sites of
later prehistoric Ireland.
The committee has been
set up as part of the recommendations in the
report of Dr Pat Wallace,
director of the National Museum, which
Minister Gormley is to release this
week.
"The National Monuments Service of my Department, the National Museum,
the National Roads Authority and Professor Gabriel Cooney of the School
of Archaeology, UCD are also represented on the committee," Mr
Gormley
said.
"The committee will advise on the conduct of the
archaeological
investigations to be carried in relation to the monument," he
added. "It
will also provide advice on the publication and dissemination
of the
results of the excavations. The committee will continue to meet on a
regular basis over the course of the excavation of the monument,"
he
added.
Meanwhile, the new council chairman outlined initiatives he
means to
take during his term. In conjunction with Meath Tourism, he
proposes to
have a Meath Tourism workshop for Meath tourism providers, to be
held in
November at Fairyhouse Racecourse. This, he said, would let
tourism
providers in Meath input their concerns and proposals for an
improved
County Tourism Strategy.
One of the concerns voiced by the new
chairman was that Meath had no dog
pound. "I wish for the relevant
section of this council to pursue this
objective over the coming months with
an evaluation and proposals for
such a pound by December this year," he
said.
Colr Killian said his election was a great honour for Ratoath where he
lives with his wife Anne and family. He thanked the outgoing chairman,
Colr Jimmy Cudden, for his proficient, professional and exemplary
manner
in the role during a particularly important period when the new
County
Development Plan was
adopted.
......