A decision by a local authority to increase the level of dumping at a landfill site alongside one of the country's most popular beaches has been condemned as "lunacy" by a local councillor.
Mr Michael Flynn, a PD member of Tramore Town Council, has called for a concerted campaign to stop Waterford County Council proceeding with plans to increase dumping at the Tramore landfill from 15,000 to 22,000 tonnes a year following the forced closure of its Dungarvan landfill site in June.
"I am now raising the alarm and calling on all those concerned by this move to combine in an effort to stop the council in its tracks.
"If nothing is done, Tramore will become the council's only municipal dump, which is nothing short of outrageous in view of its location and the importance of tourism and the environment to this resort town," said Mr Flynn.
"The landfill near the beach has been a major source of concern to environmentalists and residents alike for decades now.
"The dump has been in operation for over 60 years and for more than 20 of those, has been of grave concern to environmentalists who see it as a threat to an area of extraordinary beauty and a wild bird habitat of international importance.
"It has been designated a Special Area of Conservation and is a special protected area. It is also a proposed National Heritage Area," he added.
"It is nothing short of madness to increase dumping at this sensitive site when a modern, properly engineered landfill facility exists at Carrigtwohill in east Cork, which is not significantly further from Dungarvan and west Waterford than Tramore is."
The President of the High Court has been asked to expedite a decision on a judicial review sought by objectors to the proposed landfill site at Garrynagree for which Waterford County Council has been waiting for more than 18 months.
The county manager, Mr Donal Connolly, has said that even if the council received a positive decision shortly, it would take up to five years before dumping would begin.
"I believe that the county manager should be asked to attend a meeting in Tramore to explain to all the interested parties - local, national and international - the logic of prolonging the damage to tourism, which is Tramore's biggest and only industry", Mr Flynn said.