A former chairman of Kilkenny County Council has been operating an illegal dump beside his home for the last number of years.
The council has told Cllr Andy Cotterell, of Fine Gael, that he is under investigation.
Cllr Cotterell admitted he has been operating the dump at Inistioge, Co Kilkenny - but said it was 99 per cent rubble and back-fill from housing sites, and just 1 per cent refuse.
A former Dáil candidate, he claimed there were other illegal dumps in Thomastown and Graignamanagh, and wanted to know why these were not being highlighted.
He refused to supply details of the dumps.
He also claimed that Kilkenny County Council had deposited material at the dump, on the main Thomastown-Inistioge road at Kilmacshane. In a statement, the council confirmed it had dumped construction and demolition material at the site in 1999.
The councillor said the ESB and the former Department of Posts and Telegraphs had also deposited material there.
He also alleged that thousands of tonnes of material was dumped illegally from sites in Thomastown to an illegal dump in the area which was still in operation.
There were dumps like his in every town in the country, he added.
Cllr Cotterell admitted he had no licence or permit to operate a dump at the site, next to his home, overlooking the river Nore.
He also said that people - including Kilkenny County Council - had to dump stuff somewhere. "People come begging me to let them use it and to give them the keys," he said. The gates of the dump are locked. He said the dump had been closed following "some things that appeared in the media about Wicklow".
The councillor refused to comment on any correspondence he has had with Kilkenny County Council.
A spokesperson for the local authority said there was no impending prosecution at this stage, and added that investigators were due to visit the site again.
Cllr Cotterell said the dump was a former sand pit.
"It had to be in-filled as part of a condition of the planning permission for the site," Cllr Cotterell said.
A statement from Kilkenny County Council said: "We can confirm that a site at Kilmacshane, Inistioge, Co Kilkenny, is under investigation for dumping activities and that the owner of the land under investigation has been notified of this.
"The site has been visited and a further investigation is scheduled, following which it is expected that a Section 18 notice will be issued directing what work needs to be carried out. Kilkenny County Council would have deposited construction and demolition material in 1999 into the sand and gravel pit from a number of projects in the Inistioge area, such as the new council housing scheme.
"This was carried out under council supervision to ensure inappropriate material wasn't deposited.
"It was in the council's interest that the sand and gravel pit be reinstated as quickly as possible, taking into account its proximity to the public road."