Opposition parties have claimed that a bill introduced by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, will result in every household in Ireland paying as much as €700 in bin charges each year.
Speaking in the Dáil during the second stage debate on the Protection of the Environment Bill this afternoon, Mr Cullen said everyone wanted to ensure that the "polluter pays", a principle enshrined in government waste policy.
However, he was criticised by Labour and Fine Gael for proposing measures which will take the power to review local waste management plans from elected councillors and transfer it to unelected county managers.
Labour's environment spokesman Eamon Gilmore said the bill would cost the average householder in this country "more than any single tax measure introduced in the last ten years".
"The Minister is introducing the measure today, using 'Protection of the Environment' as his cover, just as Minister Dempsey attempted to use educational disadvantage as the political shield for re-introducing third level fees," Mr Gilmore said.
Fine Gael's environment spokesman Bernard Allen said that not only would the legislation empower a county manager to impose increased waste charges unilaterally, but would allow for charging "by weight".
"In taking this action, the Minister is removing the powers from the democratically elected local representatives and transferring it to the managers who do not have to answer to the public."
He added that the minister was now by-passing councillors and giving managers the power to "slap charges" on the public in order to compensate them for a serious shortfall in government funding this year.
Addressing the house on the bill, the Minister for the Environment said nobody should be under any illusions about the enormity of the waste management challenges we face.
He said the lack of environmental infrastructure posed a very real threat to our economic future and that there were potential impacts on the very lives and livelihoods of every man, woman and child in Ireland.
"It's that serious," he said.
Mr Cullen said EU waste legislation required that households as well as other waste providers pay for the costs of disposing of their waste, therefore household waste charges were mandatory and "here to stay". If Ireland failed to fully respect the "polluter pays" principle, it would find itself before the European Court of Justice.
Speaking after the debate, he said the opposition was not prepared to provide any leadership, any solutions or anything meaningful on waste management.
He said "auction politics" had led to the current waste crises and accused the opposition of "more of the same" today."Those who think that waste management is only about soft options are wrong and are seriously misleading the people. A balanced integrated approach, as is the foundation of my policy, is the way forward," the minister said.
The bill, if passed, will allow local authorities to cease collection of bins where a household or business fails to pay charges.
It also increases the potential fines for those carrying out polluting activities without a licence from the Environmental Protection Agency and will also allow any person to bring court action against such operators.