Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

KWD also provides a county clean up day which it operates free of charge. Everything that is collected by voluntary groups is heaped up in different towns and villages and it collects it and deals with it. We thank it very much for that. Kerry County Council got out of waste collecting a number of years ago. Since then, KWD and others have operated a very good service and we have no complaints. For the last seven or eight years, KWD has operated a flat rate pay system alongside a pay-by-weight for those who want to pay that way. We will still have to operate the two systems side-by-side because the pay-by-weight will suit some but not others. It may be the fairest for elderly people who would not have much waste.

There must be recognition for people who are medically incontinent, and €75 is not enough. Big families with a lot of children cannot cut down on their waste, as hard as they might try. They will have to have some allowance or help as it is already clear that some of these people cannot provide enough food to feed their children. When the Minister suggested that a local authority could provide a waiver system if it wanted, where does he think they will get the money? Will the Government give them that money? Will the Government give the cost of the waiver back to the local authority? The Minister must answer that question. We were told that local authorities could operate the local improvement scheme, and they could but they have no money to do that. This is the same story. The Government collects around €50 million from the 13.5% VAT charged to every customer that waste is collected from.

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