Wicklow County Council has said it intends to deal with the largest illegal dump ever uncovered in the State through the creation of a special landfill on the site.
The site, Whitestown quarry near Baltinglass in west Wicklow, which was discovered in 2001, is believed to contain at least 250,000 tonnes of illegally dumped waste, and has been the subject of a major criminal investigation.
It comes after proposals, which emerged on Tuesday, to deal with another illegal dump near Blessington, by allowing the waste to remain on the site, created considerable opposition within the community.
The new owners of the Whitestown site, Brownfield Restoration Ltd, has applied to the EPA for a licence to deal with the illegal waste on the site, and also create a waste treatment facility and new landfill on the site.
Yesterday a spokesman for Wicklow County Council said it was opposed to a new waste facility operating on the site.
However, he said that the council believed the best way of dealing with the waste at Whitestown was to remove hazardous and recyclable material, and bury the remainder in a secure, modern, lined landfill on the site.
He said the council planned to seek a High Court order requiring such measures in the coming months.
The plan is similar to proposals by CRH subsidiary, Roadstone, for its lands in Blessington, which contain three illegal sites.
The spokesman for Wicklow County Council rejected criticisms that by allowing for the waste to remain on the sites, it was effectively rewarding illegal dumping, saying that illegal dumpers faced considerable fines and jail terms if convicted.
On the proposals for the Roadstone site, he said the council considered it to be the best and most viable solution. "We're not looking for the cheapest way out of it," the council spokesman said.
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Roche, who has been highly critical of illegal dumping in Co Wicklow, where he lives, has said he was confident that the Roadstone proposals would be adequately assessed.
"I am confident that the EPA will approach this professionally and will apply the highest possible standards and ensure the most environmentally sustainable solution is put in place."