Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

The setting of waste management charges and the introduction of waivers in respect of waste charges is, as has been stated in this House on many occasions, a matter for each local authority. Local authorities operate under the auspices of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Since taking office as Minister for Social and Family Affairs I have not been in contact with the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government regarding a waiver system for refuse charges. My officials have discussed this issue with their counterparts in that Department.

It has been suggested that my Department could respond to the issue of waste charges through the exceptional needs payments of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. Under this scheme a single payment may be made to help meet essential, once-off, exceptional expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of his or her weekly income. The payments are for such items as bedding or cooking utensils for someone setting up a home for the first time or costs relating to funerals, or visiting relatives in hospital or in prison. This scheme is not intended to meet the cost of regular household bills.

In any event, the introduction of a national social welfare scheme to address the issue would not be feasible given the wide range of charging regimes and cost structures that exist in respect of waste management throughout the State. Charges vary across local authorities and within local authorities where there is more than one provider. In addition, some local authorities and private operators already operate waiver schemes but, again, the qualifying conditions for these schemes also vary. Any system put in place to assist people with waste collection charges would have to take account of the different local arrangements.

In its 2005 report, Implementing a Waiver System: Guidelines for Local Authorities, the Combat Poverty Agency investigated the practice of charging for waste collection services, examined the rationale behind the practice, established the implications for low income households and considered potential solutions to ease the financial burden on them. A set of guidelines was developed for local authorities to consider when implementing a waste charging system. The report considered that the most effective way of achieving a fair and consistent system of waste charging in Ireland would be via the national implementation of one model that satisfies all of these guidelines.

The report concluded that if a suitable procurement approach could be developed, a locally operated waiver system would offer the most effective delivery model and I am in agreement with that finding, given that all options were considered.

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