Move to bin waste charge rises – Sinn Féin senators’ motion piles pressure on FG/Independent Government

MARY LOU McDONALD has challenged the Fine Gael/Independent Government to act immediately to stop massive hikes in bin charges coming in on 1 July. If not, Sinn Féin senators will press ahead next week with the motion they have tabled today to revoke the Government Statutory Instrument signed by former Fine Gael/Labour Minister Alan Kelly allowing waste collection firms to ramp up prices.

While Alan Kelly claimed that almost 90% of households would pay less as a result of the pay-by-weight scheme, notifications received since by householders have left families “truly shocked” by the scale of increases due to come in in two weeks’ time, the Sinn Féin deputy leader told the Government during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil today to Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald.

Sinn Féin senators today submitted a formal motion to the Chair of the Seanad to annul Statutory Instrument 24 of 2016.

Mary Lou read into the Dáil record two examples of how higher bin charges will hurt people’s incomes.

• Elaine is a mother of three children with a chronically ill husband. She is on Carer’s Allowance. The cost of her bin service is increasing from €204  per year to €360 – a 76% increase.
• Marie is in her 80s, living alone on a state pension. Her standing charge is being increased from €50 per year to €169 – a 238% increase.

“Marie has told me that money is so tight she will have no choice but to go without food or to illegally burn her rubbish,” Mary Lou said. “Isn’t there something obscene about that for a senior citizen in 2016?

“And, by the way, Tánaiste, Marie, as it happens, is a constituent of yours.”

She said that the Tánaiste’s commitment that Minister Simon Coveney will meet the waste companies to stop them exploiting the legislation “doesn’t inspire much confidence”.

“What Minister Coveney needs to do is to reverse this bad decision. This was introduced by the stroke of a ministerial pen. This legislation can be annulled and removed by the stroke of a ministerial pen.

Mary Lou McDonald urged the Tánaiste to “dispense with the tea and sympathy” and get Minister Coveney to annul the legislation today or early next week “to remove this threat of daylight robbery by bin collectors of ordinary decent citizens”.

The Sinn Féin deputy leader appealed to Fianna Fáil TDs and others across the benches to support the Sinn Féin senators’ motion should it become necessary for them to force the Government to rescind its move.

“Sitting on your hands is not an option,” she said, “and Minister Coveney ‘talking tough’ is not an option.”

Mary Lou concluded:

“Minister, either you will act or we will act next week. But under no circumstances come July 1st will ordinary families be fleeced in the way these companies intend.”