The Department of Agriculture and Food has rejected as "entirely without foundation" suggestions by An Taisce that it breached environmental laws in its handling of BSE-infected carcasses which are currently stored near Horse and Jockey, Co Tipperary.
An Taisce has said that the carcasses of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy-infected cattle should be treated as hazardous waste.
About 500 infected carcasses are being deep-frozen in a Department-owned facility.
However, the Department said yesterday it had handled all aspects of BSE in a way which fully accorded with EU and national legislation. That handling was subject to scrutiny from various perspectives by independent bodies.
"These include the EU's Food and Veterinary Office, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and others and has been time and again recognised as comprehensive, rigorous and responsible," a Department statement said.
"The treatment of BSE-positive material is specifically dealt with in EU veterinary legislation. Under such legislation, the only approved means of disposal of such material are burial or incineration," it said.
"The Department discontinued the practice of burial of BSE carcasses in late 2000 and in the absence of any suitable incineration facility within the State, it has been necessary to make interim storage arrangements, pending a resolution of the problem of ultimate disposal of the carcasses," the statement added.
Since November 2000, when there were complaints in Co Galway that the carcasses of animals with the disease were being buried on farms and had the potential to contaminate ground-water, carcasses have been frozen and stored in a secure, dedicated cold store owned by the Department.
In the past, there had been contact between the Department of Agriculture and Food and Tipperary South Riding County Council on this issue, as a matter of courtesy, a Department spokesman said last night.
The Labour Party said it was also seeking a comprehensive statement from the Minister, Mr Walsh, why the material was not classified as hazardous and also clarify concerns about the transportation of the material from abattoirs to the storage plant in Co Tipperary.