Local authorities will be forced to increase charges to pay for benchmarking, the Fine Gael environment spokesman, Mr Bernard Allen, claimed.
Mr Allen said the cost to local authorities would be between €160 million and €200 million, and asked if the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, was serious in suggesting that they fund the financial burden from their own resources.
"Does he agree that there is only one way around the problem, namely that local authorities increase charges for refuse collection and development, and substantially increase commercial rates, cut services or jobs?
"What other formula is there to meet the enormous bill if the Minister reneges on funding local authorities for a deal done at national level in which they had no input whatsoever?"
Mr Cullen said that local authority funds came from many sources. Next year the total expenditure on local authorities would be in the order of €3.4 billion on the current side.
He said local authority managers and many councillors had raised the issue with him, and he had no doubt that it was a challenge to the system.
"I am currently involved in the estimates process, and I will see what the outcome is in the weeks ahead.
"As soon as we have agreement I will obviously let the local authorities know the position with regard to assisting them in the normal way to meet all their costs as much as I can, particularly through the local government fund, which, as the deputy knows, is the main source of funding from the State to local government."
Mr Cullen said the fund had increased over the past four to five years by almost 95 per cent.
Mr Allen said that benchmarking would impose a minimum cost of about €125 each on the 1.28 million households in the State. He asked the Minister to confirm that he had suggested to local authorities they increase development charges on house construction at the planning stage.
Mr Cullen said he had not told the local authorities under any heading how they should raise money to pay for benchmarking.
