Local authorities need to take back control of waste collections, councillors and unions tell TDs

Legislative changes are required to allow for improvement to the way waste collection is organised in Dublin and to allow for the possibility of it being taken back into local authority control, a group of Dublin city councillors and trade union officials told a cross party group of TDs and Senators in the Dáil on Wednesday.

The group argued reform of the current system is essential, and would provide better value for money and greater accountability with regard to services and environmental issues. They argued there is a trend across Europe towards these services being back under the control of local authorities, and that the legislative changes required to allow reform or full remunicipalisation should be introduced by Government.

“We would argue that public provided services are usually better quality, better value for money and they’re more environmentally sustainable,” chair of the trade union group More Power to You, Richy Carrothers, said ahead of the meeting.

“We have crazy situations where you can have multiple collections from different providers on the street on the same day. It makes no sense whatsoever. I don’t think the arguments made in favour of privatisation hold water any longer, particularly in circumstances where there’s greater environmental responsibilities on the State and local authorities.”

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Asked about one key one from a consumer perspective, that the competition in the market keeps down costs, Mr Carrothers was sceptical.

“In many counties across the country at present there is a single provider and people are stuck with it. There’s no element of choice whatsoever,” he said. “And I think citizens in Dublin might feel that the cost increases they’ve experienced over recent times negates that argument that competition is good.

“But the State also can’t step outside of its environmental responsibilities in terms of good governance and oversight, and meeting our targets.

Dublin city councillor Kevin Donoghue said there is support from across much, though not all, of the political spectrum for Dublin City Council and the other local authorities across the capital “to have more involvement in the provision of waste service in the city”.

He said there are a number of strong arguments for bringing the service back under public control but said even if there is not sufficient support for that at this stage, there is urgent need for reform of the existing system of competition in Dublin.

“As far as I’m aware there is no other country in the world that allows door-to-door competition for provision, it’s certainly unique in Europe,” he said, having been at a conference on an issue in Milan, Italy this week.

“So whether you’re for or against [remunicipalisation], there’s a recognition that there’s a number of changes required at Oireachtas level to address concerns around waste provision, not just in Dublin, but across the country. That’s why we’re the Dáil today.”

After a vote at Dublin City Council in 2019, the Institute of Public Administration (IPA) was asked to explore the issue. After comparing services in a number of cities across Europe it outlined the challenges, including those legislative changes, involved in remunicipalisation. The campaigners see the document as a roadmap and though the IPA report suggested the process would be difficult, Mr Donoghue insists, “those are the sort of challenges you want”.

After the meeting, he said the group had made their case based on the report and he felt it has gone well. “I’d be very, very optimistic after today that we can make progress on this,” he said.