The Chairman of the Green Party, John Gormley, has said he believes an extensive amount of sludge found on Sandymount Strand yesterday could have come from the nearby Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Mr Gormley said he received complaints from local constituents about the appearance of a thick black substance and on investigating the matter, it appeared to be 'sludge-cake' from the Poolbeg sewage plant.
While Dublin City Council has not yet confirmed what the substance is, Mr Gormley said the incident proved that the plant was not operating smoothly.
He said the €250 million plant was a constant source of odour nuisance in the area and an investigation was urgently needed to establish how the council underestimated the load entering the plant.
Mr Gormley said the Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, has refused to initiate any investigation into this and that nobody has taken responsibility for the various problems at what he referred to as a so-called state-of-the-art plant.
