DUBLIN CITY Council’s bin collection service cannot be made viable and must be sold to the private sector, assistant city manager Séamus Lyons told city councillors last night.
Councillors of all parties have called on the city manager to halt the privatisation of the city’s bin collection service, which has been in operation for almost 150 years.
It is now, however, the only local authority in the greater Dublin region not to have privatised waste collection.
The council has been losing about €10 million a year on its household waste collection service, largely due to the provision of waivers to more than 40,000 low-income households.
The losses have been increasing steadily as the number of households entitled to a waiver has grown while the number of full-paying customers defecting to private collectors has also risen.
Increasing cost of landfill levies would add approximately €2.2 million to the disposal costs in 2012 and an additional €1.5 million in 2013, Mr Lyons said.
Last May the council entered into discussions with the unions representing binmen, Siptu and Impact, in relation to these issues, he said.
The unions requested that an independent report on the future of the service be commissioned and that Ampersand consultants be appointed.
The council engaged Ampersand and a report was issued to all parties last August.
“The outcome of this report makes clear the fact that it is not possible to make the service viable either within the city council or as a social enterprise operation,” Mr Lyons said.
The council had decided it would sell its customer list to a private operator, Mr Lyons said. It had received a number of expressions of interest from private waste companies but had yet to choose a provider.
However, it planned to have a private operator in place by December 5th.
Impact and Siptu have asked the Labour Relations Commission to review the council’s decision.
Some council bin collectors have said they will move directly to industrial action and “bring the city to a standstill” if the council stops its refuse collections.
A total of 159 council workers were this week issued with a letter with their payslips informing them the council was withdrawing from the service from December 5th and offering redeployment within the local authority.
Impact and Siptu have said the council’s decision would have a negative effect on the city, its people and the environment. Particularly at risk would be the council customers currently in receipt of waivers. The environment would also suffer, with a likely increase in illegal dumping by residents unable to meet increased charges, the unions said.
A group of workers calling themselves “DCC binmen” has gone further, threatening to strike if the council does not reverse its decision.
In an e-mail circulated to all councillors, the group said the council was in breach of the Croke Park agreement. “We feel we are well within our rights to ignore the Croke Park agreement also and take industrial action if necessary.”
“We’ll bring the city to a standstill if we have to and we feel we will have the backing of the majority of the general public once they are made aware of the situation.”
TEMPLE BAR VOTE SAVES TRUST
The dissolution of the Temple Bar Cultural Trust has been rejected by Dublin City councillors. A Latitude consultants’ report commissioned by the council had found that the work of the arts and culture promotional body could be undertaken by the city council with a saving of some €800,000 a year and the trust should be would up. However, councillors last night voted by 36 votes to eight to accept a recommendation of city manager John Tierney to allow the board of the trust to determine its future.
The trust was established 20 years ago and its primary source of income is rent from properties in Temple Bar.
