Dublin resident want the city council to address a massive illegal dump that has appeared in a housing estate in north Coolock.

A plot of public land roughly the size of a football pitch at the Moateview Estate has been blocked off and is being filled with mountains of industrial and domestic waste.

Locals say the area has become infested with rats and the smell is affecting everyday life.

One resident says: "It's a nightmare - you can't even open your windows - they're burning all the time, and the smell.

"You can't hang washing out on the line or anything and you have to put the heating on to dry the clothes on the radiators.

"So the house is be roasting and you can't even open the windows at night to let a bit of air in.

"There's rats and everything out the back gardens because they're coming out of the dump.

"So we can't even let the kids out to play or open our back door or anything".

Independent TD for Dublin Bay North, Tommy Broughan, says when waste charges were introduced some people opted to use cheaper rogue operators.

"Some areas you would have found significant numbers of the population not actually having a waste collection as such.

"That's said to be one of the reasons why you would have seen some dump material around.

"But what's happening in north Coolock is quite simply an outrageous, egregious situation that's been allowed to grow up and to develop.

"And so far, Dublin City Council and An Garda Síochána haven't brought it to a conclusion".

Residents call for action to address massive dump in north Dublin housing estate

Reporting by Aideen Finnegan

Main image shows a mound of earth which has been moved to hide the dumped material | Image: Aideen Finnegan