Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is an issue about which the Government and I are concerned. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Simon Coveney, has asked the major waste collection companies to meet with him next week to discuss this, as well as other issues around the introduction of pay-by-weight. He will put it up to them to explain their justification for what is happening and for such significant price hikes.

This was never the spirit of the legislation. The change in the way this was to be done was about ensuring the principle of reduce and reuse was built into the system. It was never meant to be an excuse for hiking up charges. The Minister, in the first instance, will discuss this with the companies next week.

As Deputy Calleary said, these charges do not come into play until 1 July. However, the companies have begun sending out information which has clearly caused concern and upset to many of their customers and to consumers. We are concerned about this. The Minister will explore what action needs to be taken in the first instance next week when he meets those companies. I would stress that the whole change of pay-by-weight was intended to give households more control over their waste costs and to provide better value to those which prevent waste and recycle more. It is very much in accordance with the polluter pays principle. It was to stimulate the prevention of waste and create a more environmentally sustainable approach to the management of waste.

In terms of the approach to the issue, that is clearly what was behind the spirit of the legislation. It was certainly not intended to be an excuse to top up the basic charges which is what is being reported at present.

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