Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I compliment Deputy Dooley on tabling this Private Members' motion. It is very important. Last year, we called on the Minister to implement a transition period for the new system to ensure that households were fully informed and could financially plan around their expected charges. It is fair to say that they were more informed last year than they are this year. It is crucial that people are properly informed about what is happening.

My main concern is that indiscriminate dumping could increase. While I am on my feet, I also wish to compliment the environment section of Sligo County Council which applied for and received funding to clean up a rural road in County Sligo that was a lovely walkway used by many people but where there had been indiscriminate dumping. I went to see it myself and it was disgraceful. The local community got together, went to Sligo County Council and applied for funding. It will take two to three skips to get rid of the stuff that is there and a HI-MAC to take it out of the ground. I urge the Minister to ensure the funding is there for that type of work in which the community is involved and where it is prepared to go down, do the work itself and help the local authority to clean up areas. The follow up is crucial as well such as cameras to detect people who are indiscriminately dumping across the countryside. We have four bad cases in County Sligo and those four areas will be funded this year. It is crucial that we do everything to support the local authorities to deal with this issue because what is happening is disgraceful.

As far as I can see, there is one collector in my area of Ballymote in Sligo. There are supposed to be two but there is only one. My household, which contains two people, pays €360 per year. That is the set charge. People are very concerned that this could change. For many people, it is a lot of money to find but they are doing it. We do not have a brown bin either. There is no competition whatsoever in our area. I cannot speak about other areas. I can only speak about my own area. There must be protection for everybody but particularly for areas where there is no opposition and there is only one operator. It is important that this regulator has some authority to deal with people and that people have some place to go when issues arise and where they feel they are being overcharged.

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