The Chairman of the Green Party, John Gormley, has said he has very little confidence in the Environmental Protection Agency following the appointment of Dr Mary Kelly as its new Director General.
He said his criticism was made on the basis of Dr Kelly's previous work at the business group, IBEC, where she held responsibility for environmental policy.
Mr Gormley said Dr Kelly had opposed the Green Party's zero waste strategy and eco-taxes and her appointment was a cause of great concern for all environmentalists.
He said his party wanted the Environmental Protection Agency to put sustainable growth at the top of its agenda but instead it is a case of "business as usual".
The Green Party has also accused the Government of signing international agreements on the environment which it has no intention of ever implementing.
In the run-up to the World Sustainable Development Summit in South Africa next week, the Greens said the Irish Government had adopted the agenda of big business rather than an environmentally-friendly approach.
The party has criticised the fact that Ireland has increased rather than reduced greenhouse gasses as an example of how growth and trade comes first.
The road construction programme has also been cited by the party as another example of how the Government failed to integrate development in a sustainable and environmental-friendly fashion.
A spokesman for the Environment Minister, Martin Cullen, rejected the Green Party's claims - saying a policy paper mapping out Government plans for sustainable development was published just last month.
Ten years ago Albert Reynolds signed a bio-diversity agreement at the Rio Earth Summit.
