Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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425. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide in tabular form with respect of each of the relevant local authorities, the date on which domestic refuse charges were introduced; the date on which competition was introduced; and the date on which the service was fully privatised. [47064/14]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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426. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide in tabular form with respect of each of the relevant local authorities, the amount each local authority charged when domestic refuse charges were first introduced; the dates and amounts of subsequent increases in the charges; and the current charges for domestic refuse collection. [47065/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 425 and 426 together.

Local authorities have statutory responsibility, under section 33 of the Waste Management Act 1996, to collect, or arrange for the collection of, household waste within their functional areas. In recent years and following a transitional phase in some cases whereby local authorities continued to offer services in parallel with private operators, the significant majority of local authorities fully exited the waste collection market at different times with private collectors now providing household waste collection services in all but three local authority areas.

For those authorities still active in the waste collection market, the making of a charge in respect of a waste service is a local authority executive function under section 75(8) of the Waste Management Act 1996, as amended. Authorities that have now withdrawn from the market would also have set their own fees under the relevant legislative provisions in force at the time. Where a private operator provides the collection service, it is a matter for that operator to determine charges. Consequently, the information sought in relation to charges either by local authorities or private collectors or the introduction of private collection services in different local authority areas is not held in my Department.