Sinn Féin MEP Mary Lou McDonald today called on Minister for the Environment John Gormley to comply with European Commission demands and order a new Environmental Impact Assessment on the M3 at Tara.
Ms McDonald joined several dozen demonstrators in today at the TaraWatch demonstration at the Garden of Remembrance, unfurling an M3 mock up at the gates of the garden of Remembrance.
Gardaí locked the gates of the park permission was refused to hold the demonstration inside.
Demonstrations are also taking place in Belfast, New York, Chicago and San Francisco today, which marks the beginning of a series of protests that will continue up until St Patrick’s Day.
Ms McDonald also called on Gormley to explain why the Department of the Environment had told the public that the Lismullin national monument would be handed over by the NRA to SIAC construction today, January 8, and then the NRA actually handed the site over on December 18.
"The Minister has flouted EU law since he came into office, by refusing to conduct a dew Environmental Impact Assessment on Tara," said McDonald.
"The Green Party Minister for the Environment has completely adopted the Fianna Fáil position and rejected demands by Environment Commissioner, Stavros Dimas, to re-assess the damage being done to heritage there."