Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

It was disappointing and demonstrated how quickly someone in the Minister's position can forget about the people who support and depend on him. This is especially true of older people on pensions and those on fixed incomes who are still reeling from the increases in waste management costs. The reason they have experienced such massive increases in costs is that Fianna Fáil county councillors, with the support of Fine Gael, privatised the service in a way which left no protection for many people on low incomes, including the elderly, the unemployed and those in receipt of disability benefit. The Labour Party fought tooth and nail against the privatisation of waste collection services in Wicklow and argued that it would create a monopoly, increase charges very significantly and lead to illegal dumping. That has been the exact outcome of a disastrous decision in rural and urban areas of Wicklow.

Very limited waiver schemes apply in Wicklow, one of which is in Bray. A waiver scheme must be applied nationally to ensure the provision of support to everyone entitled to it. This is exactly what is happening in health in respect of which the Government argues every day for centralised, uniform national benefit schemes. Waste collection is another area in which a need has arisen. Despite the fact that it is at least in part the result of Government policy and the exorbitant increases in charges from which people now suffer, the Administration has walked away from the issue. Deputy Roche does not deserve the title of Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government when he walks away from an issue in his county as central as waste management. Serious illegal dumping has occurred in Wicklow but the Minister has turned his back on a petition by hundreds of people in the Blessington area which he received yesterday. All they seek is to ensure that Roadstone requires a planning application to create a new dump close to their houses. It is disappointing, but also revealing. It is clear there is no understanding on the Government side. I do not have as much confidence in the matter as Deputy O'Sullivan. Fianna Fáil does not seem to have an understanding of what is happening to older people and those on low incomes. An elderly pensioner came to me and said she did not get a waiver but a littering fine. An envelope with her name on it was found ten miles away from where she lives. The envelope was part of a very large amount of rubbish collected, which included a fridge and a snooker table. This lady could not afford a snooker table, and she certainly could not afford the fine levied against her. The reason she cannot afford it is because she must pay waste charges that are beyond her income level.

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