No VIP visitors for Newgrange

The fact that none of the recent high-profile visitors to this country have been taken to Newgrange has been condemned by Fianna Fail Cllr Wayne Harding. In the past, Newgrange has been visited by royalty, including Britain's Prince Charles, King Juan Carlos of Spain, Queen Sonja of Norway and Emperor Akihito of Japan (when he was crown prince), as well as world leaders, including the former German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl. Cllr Harding has voiced his dismay at the fact that none of the recent high-profile foreign visitors to this country have been taken to Newgrange and there are no plans to take Queen Elizabeth or President Barack Obama to the Boyne Valley, either, he said. He added that there had been an opportunity to bring the Dalai Lama and Prince Albert of Monaco to see the world heritage site but it didn't happen. "The Queen of England and the President of America will visit this country and not one of them will see the world heritage site. This is quite annoying - and a bit of a joke - as the site is extraordinarily protected in planning because of its so-called importance to this country as a tourist attraction. "However, the area has not gotten any of the financial gain or publicity that a visit by any of these dignitaries would generate. It is not fair to tell local farmers that they are not entitled to build houses for their children or that the much campaigned-for Slane bypass is too close to the site when, at the same time, the area does not benefit from its tourist potential," he said. Cllr Harding said there really only seemed to be an emphasis on protecting the site and its benefit to the local community had been sidelined. "It is getting increasingly hard for the community to take the extraordinary planning conditions being imposed around this site, which seem to be implemented at all costs," Cllr Harding concluded.