Hill of Tara included in review of heritage sites

Campaign group TaraWatch is asking members of the public to participate in the consultation process regarding possible UNESCO designation of the Hill of Tara as a World Heritage Site. Submissions must be made to the Department of the Environment by 30th January, following the announcement by the Minister for the Environment on 1st December last that he is reviewing Ireland"s tentative list of World Heritage Sites. The minister stated in May that he did not see the M3 motorway preventing UNESCO designation. TaraWatch is asking the public to make its views known, and to support the TaraWatch position, which is that the Hill of Tara is a site of outstanding universal value to humanity, and should be a UNESCO site; that the M3 motorway ruins the integrity of the site, because it passes through the complex of monuments to be protected and should be re-routed before Tara is given UNESCO status; and that it would be a breach of the UN World Heritage Convention for Ireland and UNESCO to designate Tara a World Heritage Site with the M3 passing through it. Submissions can be emailed to both worldheritagetentativelist@environ.ie and secretariat@unesco.org, or on the petition at www.savetarapetition.net.