The Green Party has demanded the Government urgently adopt an EU Directive governing the use of organic fertiliser into Irish law, after it emerged codes of practice here are unenforceable.
The call follows a row over the use of sludge in Co Carlow which originated from Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant in Dublin.
However, the contractors involved say the existing draft codes are totally and utterly unenforceable.
The Dáil was told that a fertiliser, called sludge cake, had been stored illegally on a farm in Tullow in Co Carlow.
It is now accepted that hundreds of tons of the material was kept open-air at this site for over a month even though the Government says it should only be kept for a few days.
The owner of the farm says codes of practice regarding the material do not take account of farming circumstances. The contractor asserts every effort is made to plough the material into the land as soon as possible.
Guidelines governing these biosolids come from an EU directive not yet transposed into Irish law, and are therefore unenforceable.
The Green Party, claims, the Minister for the Environment needs to urgently take action.
