Council is owed €15.8m in waste bills

DUBLIN CITY Council says it will prosecute householders who refuse to pay bin charges after it emerged it is owed almost €16 million in arrears in unpaid waste bills.

The council is in the process of sending waste bills for the first time to 40,000 of Dublin’s poorest households, who until this year have been exempt from bin charges because of their low incomes.

However, the council is already owed €15.8 million from householders who were already eligible for charges, but did not pay. It said it could not afford to grant exemptions from paying the charge and warned that ongoing refusal to pay would result in a withdrawal of service and ultimately prosecution.

Low-income households and pensioners had been exempt from paying for refuse collection since the charges were introduced in 2001. However, late last year the council decided it could no longer support a free waste service and would have to charge all customers in receipt of waste charge waivers from this year.

Households who have been entitled to waivers on their bin charges still do not have to pay the annual standing charge, set at €96 in 2010 for large general refuse “grey” bins or €78 for smaller grey bins, which is levied on all other householders.

However, they now have to pay a charge every time they present a bin for collection – €6 for the large grey bin, €3.60 for the smaller grey bin, and €2 for the brown organic waste bin.

First quarter bills being sent to waiver-holding households from this week would be a maximum of €48 if a large grey and brown bin was presented for every collection.

“We do not expect to be in a position to assist people outside the waiver scheme for the standing charge – that is not our intention,” Hugh Coughlan, senior executive officer with the council, said.

“If people don’t pay, particularly if they refuse or don’t engage with us, they would end up with their bins not being collected and could end up ultimately in court.”

The council was always willing to discuss payment arrangements with customers, Mr Coughlan said, and encouraged those in financial difficulties to pay at least a few euro each week towards their bill so their debts did not mount up.

“Our door is always open, and if people are making an effort to pay, if they talk to us and come to an arrangement with us to pay, their bins will be collected. It’s only when we have exhausted every single avenue that we would engage in non-collection.”

Mr Coughlan reminded householders to use their green and brown bins to cut down on their grey bin costs.