A call has been made for the authorities to "come down hard" on people who act "with impunity" in residential areas and burn PVC for its copper wire content.
Green Party TD, Mr John Gormley (Dublin South East) said it was a "lucrative business but it poses serious health and environmental problems".
The Green Party president said that in the Ringsend area of his constituency, PVC was burnt with the intention of selling the copper wire, but these fires had been so bad that "black plumes of smoke pass over Ringsend and flats in the area have been vacated as a result".
If these fires continued, "serious health problems will be experienced by residents in the area", he warned. "The Government must come down hard on this activity because it causes significant health problems," he said.
The Minister of State for Transport, Mr Ivor Callely, suggested that Mr Gormley arrange a meeting with his local authority, because they had specific powers to deal with such pollution. The politician and local authority should then "work out a management plan as to how best to tackle this recurring issue", which was "unacceptable and potentially dangerous", said Mr Callely.
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