The European Parliament is to send an observer to the oral hearing into the proposed super dump in Lusk, north county Dublin.
The Parliaments Petitions Committee decided to send Spanish green MEP David Hammerstein Mintz to attend the hearing by the Environmental Protection Agency into the report of its inspector on the planned landfill dump.
The landfill, covering an area of some 600 acres, would be the biggest in Europe, according to the Nevitt/Lusk Action Group, which is opposed to its construction.
It says the proposed landfill would sit on top of one of the biggest sources of groundwater on the east coast of Ireland, a source which is used by fruit and vegetable growers in north county Dublin, who grow around 55% of the country's fresh produce.
The action group and Irish MEPs say Fingal County Council's plans for the dump do not comply with EU water and environmental impact assessment directives.
It says the environmental impact assessment does not properly describe or assess the presence of a major water source under the proposed landfill.
The objectors commissioned their own ground water map from the Geological Survey of Ireland, which they passed to the committee.
A case officer from the European Commission's Environment directorate told the committee that the planning and environmental process to date appears to be in compliance with EU law and that as no final decision has been made by the relevant Irish authorities, there is no basis for the commission to launch an infringement proceeding against Ireland.
However, he said the members of the Nevitt/Lusk Action Group has presented him with new information today concerning the Water Framework Directive and the Environmental Impact directive, which will be further scrutinised by the Commission.
Fine Gael MEP Avril Doyle said she was particularly concerned that the Environmental Impact Statement on the project did not mention the presence of a large groundwater supply, despite this information being available.
Labour MEP Proinsias De Rosa said the EIS was grossly inadequate, and accused Fingal County Council of manipulating the information in it to obtain permission for the landfill.
He said the EIs identified the presence of 12 well in the area of the proposed dump, but said the Nevitt/Lusk Action Group had identified 132 wells in the same area.
Fianna Fáil MEP Liam Aylward wondered whether Bord Bia would continue to certify produce from north county Dublin if the water source used for irrigation and processing came from underneath a landfill dump.
Other members of the committee noted that they seemed to be dealing with an increasing number of complaints from Ireland about water quality.
Gemma Larkin of the Nevitt/Lusk Action group said they were delighted that an independent observer from outside Ireland would be present at the EPA hearing.
The group says Fingal County Council has failed to demonstrate a need for such a large landfill, especially as planning permission fro three incinerators has been granted, one 16km north of the site, another 26km south of the site.
