Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The reply is very disappointing. I received a similar reply from Phil Hogan a couple of years ago. The Minister said he referred the matter for further examination, but waste collection charges are increasing every year. The company I am with has increased its charges every year for the past three years. That is driven, as the Minister knows, by a number of factors, such as landfill and other associated charges.

Illegal dumping is also on the rise, and one can see evidence of that in Dublin City. There is no excuse for it, regardless of the charges. Our party is very concerned about its effects on the environment, tourism, the Tidy Towns competition and towns, villages and cities across the State. As the Minister knows - he lives in a rural area - farmers are gathering up the bags of rubbish people have dumped. We want the situation to change.

I hope the Labour Party has not given up on trying to do something about this issue. Illegal dumping is a separate, but related, issue. I agree with the Minister. Many of those involved in illegal dumping have vehicles worth €30,000, €40,000 or €50,000, which I could not afford to buy. In some cases it is not a question of affordability, which is a key point. Some of those brought to court and fined for illegal dumping have, as litter wardens will say, very expensive vehicles. There is an issue in terms of affordability, on which I hope the Minister has not given up. I hope he can return with a package for low income households.

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