A private 16-acre landfill dump at Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, is operating without planning permission.
The dump, at Killegar close to Enniskerry, takes large amounts of waste from the Dublin area. Wicklow County Council has served notice on the owners, Landfill Management Ltd to close it.
An Enniskerry residents group said the landfill made the area "the stinking cesspit of the garden of Ireland". The group said people were plagued with noxious odours, and large rats, crows and flies were drawn to the site.
The council is considering taking legal proceedings against the owners, who have not had planning permission since June 15th, when the original permission lapsed.
Nobody from the company was available to comment. Landfill Management Ltd is owned by Mr Frank Maguire, a farmer who lives beside the dump and who owns much of the surrounding land.
The company recently lodged a new planning application with the council to extend the life of the dump for another 15 months, but a decision is not expected soon.
A group of local residents has lodged an objection to the application.
A separate application has been lodged with the Environmental Protection Agency for a waste licence for the site. That also is awaiting a decision.
According to Mr Tony C. Kearns, spokesman for the Enniskerry North Residents Association, the dump is the cause of bad odours which often affect Enniskerry village.
"Rats, bluebottles, crows and seagulls all congregate in the area because of the dump," he said.
He claimed the many trucks and large vehicles going into the dump every day were causing traffic problems and were a danger to other drivers and pedestrians.
"This is not a `not in my back yard' situation because this dump is unauthorised and it effects a whole area, not just a small number of people who live close by," he said. He added that the watertable in Enniskerry could be affected in coming years. When The Irish Times visited the site last Friday, it was surrounded by crows and bluebottles. Several trucks were unloading waste, which was being covered by layers of soil.
The large volume of waste being deposited has caused the site to rise above the surrounding fields.
Several dead foxes and crows were lying near the dump, which was littered with shotgun cartridges.
The site runs alongside a graveyard which includes the remains of an old church. The graveyard was littered with pieces of waste dropped by crows. One of the largest waste disposal companies in Wicklow, Noble Waste, uses the site. Several of its skips were lying at the dump on Friday.
Noble is extensively involved in collecting domestic waste for Wicklow County Council.
A spokesman for the council said it had received a large number of complaints about the dump and associated problems such as noxious odours.
He said the council had contacted Landfill Management on several occasions and asked that certain work be carried out to combat such problems. The company had complied with these orders.
However, he said, the council was considering further steps against the company if dumping did not stop. He said there was continuing contact between the council and the residents.
Ms Yanny Kearns, whose house looks out over the site, said: "Over the past five years we have had to keep windows shut nearly every day to stop flies and nauseating odours filling the house."
"My mother's health has been badly affected by the poisonous gases which come drifting into the house at night. Her asthma has been aggravated on many occasions, which causes her great stress," she added.
Enniskerry North Residents Association is gathering a petition in the village and plans to present it to the council.
Labour Party TD Ms Liz McManus is planning to raise the issue at a meeting of the council and will visit the site tomorrow.