Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. Fianna Fáil supports the replacement of flat-rate bin charges with pay-by-weight bin charges for households. This will reduce residual waste going to landfills, give householders more control over their waste costs and reward those who recycle. However, we acknowledge that the implementation of the new charging regime has been highly problematic due to the opacity and lack of transparency of the new pricing models.

Fianna Fáil welcomes the price freeze for customers for the next 12 months, based on current pricing plans. During the second half of 2016, the waste industry will engage in an intensive public awareness, information and promotion campaign to promote the benefits of the pay-by-weight charging model, supporting customers in understanding how they can change their waste management behaviour and better manage their waste costs. No later than 1 January 2017, customers will receive a dual pricing plan detailing the costs under the current model and the pay-by-weight model of disposing of the waste they generate and be given the opportunity to switch to the pay-by-weight system. This is very productive and will give householders the chance to ensure that they pay less for household waste disposal. Following the 12 month transition period, a review will take place which will inform decisions regarding arrangements from 1 July 2017, including the requirement for comprehensive billing information on the pay-by-weight system, through amendments to the relevant statutory instrument. It is intended to keep the operation of the price freeze under review, with further legislative interventions to be considered if necessary. The waste industry has made a commitment to providing a weight allowance to 60,000 HSE patients supplied with incontinence wear in order to reduce their waste charges and the Government has agreed to a 50% reduction in the landfill levy on waste companies in respect of such waste.

Fianna Fáil calls on the Minister to introduce a waiver scheme for low-income households, those with special needs, larger households and those with babies which could be negatively affected by the new charging structure. This is a very important issue for Fianna Fáil and for those who have attended our clinics and argued that the new system will be unfair to them. Fianna Fáil also calls for a mechanism to be put in place to ensure that apartment dwellers and those who cannot store wheelie bins are provided with a fair pricing system. We also need to examine the issue of bags because we were told that from 1 July this year bin bags would no longer be collected. The Government must introduce measures to increase the diversion of food and compostable waste from landfill and to encourage the reuse and recycling of green waste. Such measures could include ministerial orders compelling waste collectors to provide separate compostable waste bins to areas that do not currently have them and to enable householders to recycle glass in their green waste bins.

Sinn Féin never comes up with answers. Its members are always saying that we should get rid of this or that. We must move forward and give the people ---