Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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Last Friday night, a cohort of 11,000 customers of a waste collection company based in Cork by the name of Country Clean, which provides waste services in both Cork city and Cork county, received a text from it. The text indicated that, as of Monday last, there would be an increase in the pay-per-lift charge. The pay-per-lift for general waste was to increase from €8 per lift to €12 per lift, and for recyclable waste from €4 per lift to €7 per lift. Customers were also asked to increase the amount that they had in their accounts on standby for payment from €20 to €22.

The Minister, Deputy Coveney, came in to the House only a matter of weeks ago stating he had an agreement - it was dubbed in the House "a gentleman's agreement" - with the Irish Waste Management Association, the representative organisation for the waste collection companies. The Minister gave a guarantee to the House and to customers that there would be no price hikes for 12 months. I put it to the Minister of State, Deputy English, that this is a clear breach. Not only is it a price hike, it is a price of hike in the region of 50%.

I am asking for action. Country Clean has gone to ground. The company is not taking phone calls from radio stations or anything of the like, and I am asking for action from the Government. The Minister stated in June that legislation would be brought in to enforce a price cap in the event of breaches of this kind. What action does the Minister intend to take to stop this from happening to these 11,000 customers?

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent)
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As Deputy Barry stated, the Irish Waste Management Association agreed with the Minister recently to implement the price freeze that has been spoken about. As I stated on Thursday last on Leaders' Questions to the Tánaiste, there was a collective sigh of relief across the country such was the anger and anxiety of waste customers.

Greyhound has done the exact same. The company has said to its customers they can opt out of pay-by-weight, and if they do, they can enter into another deal where one must pay €140 up front. I made the case of a woman in my area who had paid €59.95 for a year's contract with Greyhound in January of this year and now she has been told she must pay €140 to go back into that contract from 1 August to July next year. That is a massive increase.

These companies are holding the Government and their customers, and, in Greyhound's case, its workers, in contempt in relation to this so-called gentleman's agreement. The Tánaiste stated on Thursday last that the Minister was monitoring the matter and, if necessary, he would bring in the legislation to force the companies to implement this price freeze.

Country Clean is continuing to act in this way. Another company is now following suit where it is increasing its black bin charge from €8 to €12 and its green bin from €4 to €7. Despite the polluter pays principle, they are hiking their prices up by that amount. These companies are ignoring the agreement. The Minister must not be ruthless but forthright in coming forward and doing something about this. What will he do?

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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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.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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I welcome the response from the Minister, particularly the parts of the statement indicating, "We consider that unacceptable", "I also do not believe that this approach is consistent with the spirit of the agreement reached with the sector last month", and, last but not least, "I will ask my officials to meet representatives of Country Clean and Greyhound if necessary to investigate this matter further and seek early resolution".

It is hot outside and people are concerned about what will happen if their bins are not collected this week. In other words, people cannot wait weeks for this to be resolved. I am asking for a commitment that if Country Clean is not brought to heel immediately, or in a day or two more or less, we will move quickly on the issue with legislation to cap prices, meaning this sort of action will be forbidden by law.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent)
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I reiterate those comments. We have raised this issue for the past number of weeks, including on the Order of Business on a number of occasions. We keep being told the issue is being monitored, watched or processed and there are meetings with representatives. Greyhound will implement this on 1 August, which is less than 14 days away. Everybody has received a letter about it. The Minister of State must move more quickly on this as the companies are continuing to do this. They are breaking the agreement made with them and something must be done about it.

I put a question to the Minister a couple of weeks ago about having an investigation into the companies. He stated:

Waste collection is the statutory responsibility of local authorities. Under section 33 of the Waste Management Act 1996, as amended, there is a general duty on a local authority to either itself collect the household waste in its functional area or alternatively to arrange for its collection by third parties.

We need to consider that and introduce a statutory instrument so if a company is in breach of its obligations, the collection should be taken from it so the local authority can take over or it can be given to another company that will abide by the rules.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I again thank the Deputies for raising the matter. I know it is frustrating at this stage and I am quite conscious that the Deputies have said that August is close. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, has been very clear about this and he expects the deal to be honoured. That is the bottom line and it has been made clear in all negotiations. Our officials have been out there and it has been made clear that there will be consequences if the deal is not honoured. There have been further investigations this week and we will have to see what happens at the end of the week. I am conscious of the Deputy's comments regarding collections in the next couple of days. I hope we can have an update towards the end of the end of the week. I will liaise with the two Deputies on that as well. The Minister was very clear about this to the representatives of companies that he expects the deal reached to be honoured. It is as simple as that.