Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise that the Minister, Deputy Coveney, is not here himself to take the debate. He was hoping to be back in time to take it.

It is true that earlier this month the Minister, Deputy Coveney, secured an agreement with all major waste collection companies to freeze charges in order that customers would pay no more than they currently pay for waste collection over the next 12 months for the same level of service.

While the majority of those in the sector have clearly honoured the agreement, there appear to be some instances of divergence from the terms, or if not the terms then certainly the spirit, of what was agreed. We are disappointed and unhappy, therefore, if it is true that a waste collector, cited by the Deputies, is requiring existing customers to pay an increased charge for the same level of service contrary to the sector-wide agreement that was negotiated in good faith.

Our Department has been in touch with the company in question, Country Clean, which has explained that the pricing change only relates to some of its customers and is due to the discontinuing of waivers for a small percentage of pay-by-lift customers, which the company purchased from Cork city and county local authorities in 2011. Country Clean has continued the waiver up to this point but is now intending to remove it. The company also stated that it is open to those customers to move to the flat fee pricing plan offered by the company.

While regular presenters of waste, that is, those who present both a residual black bin and green bin every fortnight, would see no increase in charges under this change, it could result in increased fees for lighter producers of waste.

We consider that unacceptable. Customers should not be punished for displaying good management practices by producing less waste. Furthermore, I also do not believe that this approach is consistent with the spirit of the agreement reached with the sector last month. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, has asked our officials to follow up directly with the company and to ensure it understands his expectations in this regard, and also the implications of what the company plans to do.

The approach being taken by different waste companies is being closely monitored. In this regard, the Minister mandated officials from our Department to meet representatives of the waste sector earlier this month where issues concerning the consistent implementation of the agreement were raised. It was made clear to the representatives from the waste sector that if a fair and reasonable approach was not being delivered, we would be forced to take further steps to ensure the agreement was honoured. The Minister has also been clear that if there is evidence of the agreement being breached, he will look at further legislative measures, where necessary, to enforce it.

The compliance of the sector and its effectiveness in co-operating and implementing these new arrangements are likely to feature within the overall review of the functioning of this waste collection sector and to influence consideration of the need for a regulator to ensure we have absolute clarity in terms of predicted behaviour, charging systems and the parameters within which the providers operate.

I thank the Deputies for raising this issue. We have publicly expressed our dissatisfaction before with how certain companies are operating in a manner that is not in keeping with the spirit of the agreement reached with sector in June. Under the agreement, customers should not pay more than they currently pay for their waste collection and for the same level of service until July next year.

That was a very clear agreement and the Minister, Deputy Coveney, outlined it to the House and took questions on it. The operation of the price freeze by industry is being closely monitored by the Department. Departmental officials have held three meetings with representatives of the waste industry since 1 July and are in regular contact around issues arising from this matter. We will continue to liaise with operators as necessary on the consistent implementation of the agreement.

I reiterate that at those meetings it was made very clear to the industry that, if the companies were not taking a fair and reasonable approach, we would be forced to take further steps to ensure the agreement is honoured. In this regard, I will ask my officials to meet representatives of Country Clean and Greyhound if necessary to investigate this matter further and seek early resolution.

See this speech in context