The Department of Agriculture has refused to disclose publicly the burial locations of 536 BSE-positive cattle, despite continuing public health concerns about carcasses in the land.
The locations were requested by The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 1997.
However, other released documents show the Department was warned of the possible dangers of burying BSE-positive carcasses as far back as October 1997. But it was not until last November that burials were stopped.
The burials had continued for three years despite repeated expressed concerns, spelled out in documents submitted to the Department by expert groups, notably about the possible contamination of water supplies. The UK BSE Inquiry report last year noted the need to examine the issue of BSE transmission via water.
In 1997 the Government's BSE Scientific Advisory Committee expressed alarm at the burial of BSE-positive carcasses. "Because of the indestructibility of the prion protein (believed to cause BSE), this practice presents a serious risk to man and animals," the initial recommendation, which was sent to the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, said. On where exactly the BSE carcass were buried, Mr Brendan Gleeson, assistant principal of the Department's animal health division, said - in response to the Irish Times's FOI request - "publication of this information would undoubtedly prejudice" future reporting of BSE suspects by the individuals concerned, or others.
Publication would "equally prejudice the Department's ability to implement its BSE control and eradication policy", he said, and could affect the herdowner's business adversely. One document released by the Department underlines some of the potential risks of burial. It refers to Co Cavan and Co Monaghan, a region which accounts for some 35 per cent of all BSE cases.
During the winter months these counties have a high water-table and poor drainage.
"This means BSE suspects are being buried in less than satisfactory conditions," the document said.
The Western Zoonoses Committee, established at the request of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to discuss BSE issues, advised in a letter to the Department that burying infected carcasses without consulting the relevant health board and local authority, although legally not required, was "imprudent".
However, the Department did state in response to concerns about burials that incineration was the preferred method of disposal, but without available facilities burial should continue under strict conditions.
In 1999 the Government's BSE Scientific Advisory Committee recommended getting an incinerator "as a matter of priority".
Another document shows the Department is looking at a UK system, in which the carcass is dissolved in an alkaline substance, leaving a "dust" which can be stored or disposed of.
The Department says it has told local authorities it would tell them the location of burial sites in their area, but asked their disclosure to be treated sensitively, as there could be repercussions for the farmers involved.
Last October, residents dug up a carcass on a farm in Co Galway and left it in the open.
The Department confirmed that up to last week it had responded to 20 requests from local authorities, and it had handed over the names of the herd-owners. A spokesman said the decision of how to proceed - and to determine if the buried carcass could possibly contaminate a water supply - was up to an individual authority.
Some 536 BSE-positive carcasses have been buried. About twice this amount of suspected BSE-positive material was also buried - in all cases high-risk material such as the head, brain and spinal cord was removed and disposed of elsewhere under strict conditions.
The BSE-positive and suspected material is now being sent to the Department's newly acquired permanent storage facility in Horse and Jockey, Co Tipperary, following the procedures used previously in burial. Since burial ended, these carcasses have been held in Department warehouses in Abbots town, Co Dublin, and will be moved to the new facility.