Galway Bay fm newsroom - 12 quarries in Galway have been found to be unauthorised.
RTÉ Investigates has found over 150 quarries across the country are unauthorised out of 1,100 active quarries in Ireland.
Over the past six months RTÉ Investigates has looked at quarries across the country including those in Galway, Donegal, Kildare, Meath, Wexford and Dublin.
Donegal had the highest number of unauthorised quarries at 30, followed by Kerry with 26 and Cork with 19 and Waterford with 17 and Galway with 12.
The investigation looks at how some operators are able to challenge the system of regulation for quarries, blasting without planning permission, and digging into the landscape of rural Ireland, sparking angry protests.
Tonight's RTÉ Investigates - Between a Rock and a Hard Place - will be broadcast on RTE One at 9.35.
