Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

They may have their confidence and supply agreement, but they are certainly supplying each other with a lot of freedom to enable the bin companies do what they want with an important and essential service that people are paying dearly for.

The only thing that can be done to safeguard the service in future and to keep the environment safe in our cities and towns is for this service to be taken back into the ownership and control of the local authorities. The City Manager of Dublin City Council agrees with this. The city council is browned off - not to put too fine a pun on it - collecting illegally dumped waste while those who are getting the profits from the waste do not pay towards it. Last year, a total of €1.5 million was spent by the city council dealing with illegally dumped waste. The situation will get worse. It will get far worse with the hikes that are going to ensue. The Government need not tell me that this agreement will not raise them because it will

The bin companies say they do not fear the regulator and that says it all. Will the Minister please tell me what is going on here? On the one hand the Government is making an agreement, while on the other, those involved are dividing among themselves about that agreement. They should get it right, do the right thing by the citizens and give the local authorities control of the services.

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