Dublin rejects plan to charge for refuse collection

Dublin City Council last night rejected plans to introduce domestic refuse charges in the capital which, coupled with the introduction of wheelie bins and the implementation of the city's waste management plan, would have seen households pay up to £150 annually for the service.

In a report issued to councillors last Thursday - but which many councillors insisted that they did not get until yesterday - the corporation notified members that their approval would be sought to bring in charges as early as next month.

Last night the city manager, Mr John Fitgerald, said that measures were completely in accord with the Waste Management Plan which had been shown to the members on four occasions and which had been adopted by the council.

"What we are proposing is what has been done in other European capital cities. It is in line with best practice," he said.

Mr Fitzgerald stressed that the measure was "not a tax but an environmental instrument, in line with the `polluter pays' principle."

However, the councillors suggested that taxes should be levied on the drinks industry, the packaging industry and the supermarkets instead of the householders.

Councillor Sean Kenny (Lab) said the Labour group was dismayed that that so many councillors had received the manager's proposals as late as yesterday. The plan he said, had "all the hallmarks of something which had been cobbled together without enough thought ".

He particularly criticised proposals that would require those who do not get a wheelie bin service immediately to pay £100 per year from next month for a service which they currently get for free.

Councillor Michael Mulcahy (FF) said he felt the supermarkets and manufacturers were the real polluters, and under the "polluter pays" principle, they should be asked to pay first. Councillor Ciaran Cuffe (Green) said he did not see a strong commitment to waste management, re-use and reduction in the plan, which he claimed included a plan to put an incinerator in "the heart of one of Dublin's oldest working-class communities".

Councillor Dessie Ellis (SF) said the measure would be unworkable in working-class communities. He instanced Finglas as one location where the wheelie bins would be stolen or set on fire.

The only member to speak against the tide of criticism was Councillor Tony Taffe (FF). He told the council that he had "seldom heard so much nonsense." It was, Mr Taffe said, a clear case of the plan being "hugely politically unpopular with members who want to stand in the next election".

He accused the members of "heaping abuse" on the manager who was acting in a clearly defined role. The members were simply refusing to accept that the implementation of the waste management plan was going to cost money, he said.

A vote proposed by the Labour Party group to reject the plan was accepted with the Fianna Fail members but no opposition. A subsequent vote, which received majority support, referred the issue of waste management policy implementation back to the council's Environment and Engineering Strategic Policy Committee.