The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, is being pressed to set up an independent inquiry into illegal dumping in Co Wicklow following the disclosure that the county council itself was involved.
Mr John Reilly, who had been operating the largest illegal dump in the county at Whitestown, near the Glen of Imaal, said the council had made use of his facility until last November, when its status became publicly known.
Despite having neither planning permission nor a waste licence from the Environmental Protection Agency, the council had been depositing up to 25 truckloads of waste a week in the largely disused quarry, he told RTÉ news.
Mr Reilly estimated that the council may account for up to a quarter of the total volume of waste deposited at the site since dumping first started there in 1979.
Much of this is likely to be municipal refuse collected from householders.
The Whitestown site may contain hundreds of thousands of tonnes of waste, according to one senior council official.
Because some of it is known to be hazardous hospital waste, it is currently being excavated at considerable expense.
A local resident complained about dumping at Whitestown as long ago as March 1998.
Council officials spoke to Mr Reilly, telling him that dumping must cease at the site and the waste already deposited there had to be removed.
Despite subsequent claims that an enforcement notice had been issued under Section 55 of the 1996 Waste Management Act, no legal action was taken by the council.
As a result, dumping continued until November 21st last.
Wicklow County Council has declined to comment on the latest disclosure, saying a public statement could prejudice its ongoing investigations of illegal dumping and any prosecution that might be taken against those involved.
A former council chairman, Mr Tommy Cullen (Labour), who has been outspokenly critical of waste management in Wicklow, last night called on the Minister to intervene by appointing an inspector with full powers to carry out an inquiry.
He was supported by Mr Frank Corcoran, a Blessington resident and waste spokesman for An Taisce
He said it was clear that only an external inquiry could deal with the matter given that the council itself was a party to illegal dumping.
