The Government is examining plans to pay a special bin-charge allowance to thousands of older people who are unable to get a waiver for the service.
Up to 20 of the 34 local authorities around the State are not operating a waiver scheme for refuse charges since they handed bin-collection services over to private operators. However, older people and welfare recipients are able to apply for waivers in areas where the service is still run by a local authority.
The move at Government level follows legal advice provided to Limerick City Council which advised that private collectors were not under any obligation to provide waivers.
The Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Mr Brennan, has confirmed to The Irish Times that officials in the Department of Environment and the Department of Social and Family Affairs are examining options to deal with the issue. These measures, may include a national waiver scheme or an allowance for people who are unable to access a waiver.
Government sources say the cost of such a scheme has not been calculated, but is likely to be substantial given that it would apply to tens of thousands of senior citizens and people on low incomes. Flat rate annual bin charges range between €200 in Tipperary South up to €466 in Wicklow County Council.
"We'll need to do something about this sooner rather than later," said one official.
Lobby groups for older people yesterday called for swift action. Mr Gerry Scully, of Age Action Ireland, said many older people should not be penalised with substantial payments based on what part of the country they lived in.
Mr Michael O'Halloran, of the Irish Senior Citizen's Parliament, said there was no uniform approach to dealing with bin charges, and the practice often varied from local authority to local authority.