Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

This is my first time speaking during Leaders' Questions, so I will probably go easy on the Taoiseach. Many people in this House have received correspondence and e-mails in regard to bin charges and that whole debacle. I just want to read out one e-mail I got from a chap in the area I live in. I cut it down a little bit. It encapsulates everything that is wrong with these charges.

I want to raise this issue of the new pay-by-weight bin charges announced by Greyhound and other bin companies. I am a full-time carer for my sister, who has Downs syndrome and who suffers from adult urinary incontinence. I need to use my bin daily to dispose of adult nappies and pads. As a result of the new charges, my bin charges will increase from Euro 204 to Euro 304.60. This is a price increase of 50% and in my opinion it is outrageous that this is allowed to happen.

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The Dept of Environment stated that 87% of clients would see their bin charges fall. This is clearly erroneous and misleading information.

I am a life-long environmentalist and I have a compost heap for my green waste. I use my green bin to dispose of all plastics and paper. There is very little else I can do to reduce my own personal liability.

I hope you can now influence this government to step in before July 1st and prevent this profiteering by these bin companies.

I never thought I would end up in the Dáil.

But I am very proud to represent working people and one poster has stuck in my head for a very long time. It read, "We deserve to live, not just to exist", and that is what is happening to working people in this country at the moment. We talk about a dispensation in this House but there is a dispensation in society whereby working people will not take any more stealth taxes or fiascos such as Irish Water. What is the Taoiseach going to do about this debacle? Will he bring forward legislation to ensure it does not happen again?

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