The Labour party has today called for a comprehensive national study of existing and closed landfill waste sites in Ireland.
The call follows the publication in the British Medical Journalyesterday of a report showing a link between birth defects and proximity to landfill sites.
According to a report carried out at the Imperial College of London (ICL), research has shown a one per cent increase in the risk of birth defects to babies born within a two kilometre radius of a landfill site, and a 7 per cent increase for those near a hazardous waste site.
And Labour Party spokesman on the Environment and Local Government, Mr Eamon Gilmore has warned that Ireland may be in a more precarious position in relation to the issue as there is a higher level of landfill dumping here than in the UK.
He claimed that in Britain about 80 per cent of waste is sent to landfill sites whereas in Ireland the figure is closer to 90 per cent.
In a statement Mr Gilmore also said prior to the 1996 Waste Management Act there was "no real regulation or control over landfill sites" and consequently waste including toxic material was dumped around the country.
Calling for a study similar to that conducted in Britain, Mr Gilmore said in many cases housing estates had since been built "right up to the boundaries of these dumps" in Ireland and any research should include "all landfill dumps, including those which are no longer in active use".
Mr Gilmore criticised the Government's proposed study on landfill and thermal treatment, announced last week by the Minister for the Environment, and said it fell short of the comprehensive work he believes is required.
He said the ICL study now proved that "public fears about landfill dumps are not groundless."