The Labour Party candidate for Galway West, Mr Michael D. Higgins, criticised Galway Corporation's "obdurate" stance over the Mutton Island controversy when he launched his campaign yesterday.
He said an acceptable compromise was to build the controversial sewage treatment plant underground on the island, but that had been rejected by local councillors on grounds of additional cost.
However, his view was that it was worth incurring the extra cost now in order to rid the city of the sewage problem.