Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I dtosach báire, ba mhaith liom tréaslú le na foirne sacair agus rugbaí atá againn in Éirinn a rinne thar barr ar fad sna cluichí san Eoraip, san Afraic Theas agus sa chraobh domhanda ag an deireadh seachtaine. Tréaslaim chomh maith leis an lucht leanúna a bhí thar barr ar fad sa chaoi a d'iompar siad iad féin le linn na gcomórtas éagsúla. I congratulate all our Irish teams which were competing and our fans on how well they represented Ireland when abroad.

I wish to raise what I believe to be a very serious issue. Last week, during a debate in the House on bin charges, the Minister, Deputy Coveney said:

People from all parties and none asked me to engage with the industry and ensure that no household would be ripped off as we try to move to a pay-by-weight charging structure. That is exactly what I did. Last Friday, the day after those questions were raised, we met the waste industry for at least three hours. I had a very direct discussion with them. I told them that under no circumstances would the Government allow a situation whereby households would be mandated to switch over to a new charging system that would result in dramatic increases for many households. It would not happen, and it has not happened, and people are talking in this debate as if it will happen. It will not.

It has happened and is happening as we speak. It has been clarified to Raidió na Gaeltachta, which has investigated the issue, that the only people whose charges will not be increased are those who are already registered with waste collection companies. As we know, the current situation is almost a 50-50 in that 50% of people are not registered with waste companies because they get rid of their own waste or they are using the bag system and purchase bags in shops. It is our understanding that those people are now going to be compelled to register, pay a standing charge and pay by weight. This is totally contradictory to what the Minister said. This is an incredibly serious issue. Wittingly or unwittingly, the Minister misled the Seanad. Either he was aware this would be the scenario and withheld the information or the companies with whom he was in discussions for the three hours withheld the information from him. If they did, then there is a huge issue around how trustworthy the companies are to implement the statutory instrument.

Last week Fianna Fáil Members fully supported the Minister and said they had full confidence in him. Wittingly or unwittingly, either Fianna Fáil Members knew or did not know about this scenario. If they knew about this scenario, they were complicit in the collusion but if they did not know about it, they were misled by the Minister. We need to find out the truth.

I call for an amendment to the Order of Business that the Minster, Deputy Coveney, comes to the House today because these waste charges are to come in on 1 July. I want the Minister to clarify the situation and tell us if he misled the Dáil and the Seanad. If he did, will he correct the record? What will the Minister do to address the situation where people across this country are going to be ripped off by the private refuse companies unless the Government does something about it? I propose that amendment to the Order of Business.