Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

It is not right to require a local authority to continue to collect household waste from a person if that person fails to pay relevant waste charges, nor is it right that people who comply with the law and pay the charges should subsidise neighbours who refuse to comply and that is what the Senator proposes in this amendment. The polluter pays principle underpins this legislation and it is wrong to say to people that there is a way around this when there is not. Would we tell people not to pay their gas or electricity bills or their television licence? It is the same category and we must see this issue in the context of the examples I gave because waste charges belong in that category. They are a legitimate component of the costs for the services we receive and that is how it should be seen. The public is prepared to accept this and we should move on from this issue.