Residents of Erris in Mayo say they are havinig to live with "foul odours" coming from a plant which converts industrial sludge into granular fertiliser and are demanding that the enterprise be shut down.
People living in Geesala in the isolated north-west of the county say that their life has been unbearable since last spring, when Glancré Ltd, a Cork-based company, began drying sludge at the converted Norsk Hydro peat plant.
Some 700 residents of the Erris area have signed a petition calling for closure of the plant.
A local action committee, which is concerned over possible pollution of the environment, has lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanála against a decision by Mayo County Council to grant Glancré a permit for the sludge-drying operation.
The board was to have issued a decision on the appeal by last Friday, but this was postponed for at least a further week.
Mr Seamus Cafferkey, chairman of Erris Action Group, yesterday criticised the length of time it was taking the board to deal with the issue. "There have been problems with smells right from the commencement of the operation and the people of the area feel their rights are being trampled on," Mr Cafferkey said.
A representative of Glancré has said that the company was aware of complaints about "occasional smells". It had asked a firm of consultants to carry out a study of the operation and any shortcomings would be rectified.
Mayo County Council has been criticised by a number of councillors for deciding that Glancré does not require planning permission for its Geesala operation.
"There were smells up to three miles away," Cllr Gerry Coyle said. "We didn't get any benefit from the Celtic Tiger in Erris. All we are now getting is the tiger's dung."