The Department of Agriculture said yesterday it would continue to bury BSE-infected cattle because it had no alternative at this stage as the State did not have an incinerator.
The Department has not considered giving a commitment to contact local authorities or health boards before burying such animals as it is not required to do so under the current regulations where a single animal is involved.
The Department's statement followed calls on the Government to make public the records of all burials of BSE-infected cattle and for the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a safety audit on all of the burial sites.
The Department today will start an investigation with Galway County Council into the burial of a BSE-infected animal near the source of four group water schemes and 15 other wells, near Loughrea.
The infected carcass was dug up when it was discovered the burial had taken place, and the carcass was dumped back at the home of the farmer. It was subsequently reburied under Department of Agriculture supervision.
Galway County Council, which is considering prosecuting the Department under Section 32 of the Waste Management Act, has demanded the locations of similar burials in the county, where half the population depends on ground water for supplies.
The Galway incident is likely to lead to calls from other local authorities to give similar information on the 551 animals buried on Irish farms since the disease was first identified here in 1989.
It was learned that the Department has been looking at alternatives to burying BSE-infected animals since the BSE National Advisory Committee recommended last year that the practice cease. One of these is to freeze the carcass, but the location of such a facility would be controversial. The second option is to send the bodies of the animals abroad for incineration.
Agreement has been reached with a company in Germany willing to incinerate the rendered bodies of BSE-infected animals. The Department is known to have had discussions with the Environmental Protection Agency on what level of processing would be allowed here before the export of the carcasses could be licensed.
The Irish Farmers' Association came out last night against the burial of diseased animals on farms and called for the entire BSE carcass to be disposed of through a central collection agency. A spokesman for the IFA said that the carcasses should be taken from this central collection agency to Monery By-Products, Co Cavan, where they would be rendered.
Mr Eamon Gilmore, Labour spokesman on the environment, also called for an end to the practice and said that what had emerged in Galway would cause alarm in other rural areas.
Mr Gilmore said the records of all burials of carcasses should be disclosed, and the Environmental Protection Agency should be asked to conduct a safety audit of all burial sites.