Government may set up regulator for waste industry

The Government is considering setting up a regulator for the domestic waste industry as one of the options to prevent increases in household collection charges.

Minister for Housing and Planning Simon Coveney said on Monday night he would not have a problem with seeking what would amount to a radical new approach to resolving the issue.

He said a regulator would ensure homes were not paying more for collections during the transition to the new pay-by-weight system.

Negotiations between Mr Coveney and waste company representatives on the issue were ongoing on Monday night. Sources said a number of issues continued to cause friction between the sides.

While the industry has claimed that some 87 per cent of households will pay less, there has been anecdotal evidence of some companies imposing steep increases in standing charges.

"I am still talking to industry. I am making it very clear to them that if we don't get what I believe to be necessary and politically saleable, we will have to look at a different approach that might involve a regulator," Mr Coveney told The Irish Times.

The Minister has accepted the arrangement would result in some waste management companies bearing a cost. At the same time, the Government has insisted that householders should pay no more that they currently do.

The new payment system is due to commence on July 1st. Mr Coveney has proposed a transition period of 12 months with a cap on charges before the full pay-by-weight system is introduced.

That will be on the condition that households do not produce more weight than they currently do. Those who produce less refuse would pay less, under this proposal.

Mr Coveney's proposal, as outlined, is almost certain to win support from the main opposition party Fianna Fáil.

The party's housing and planning spokesman Barry Cowen said if there was an agreement to cap charges at current levels and adhere to the spirit of the pay-by-weight principle, it would accord with the Fianna Fáil view on the issue.

Proposal

Irrespective of reaching agreement, he will bring forward a proposal to Cabinet on Tuesday morning that will have the effect of capping the charges at the current level. It is likely that primary legislation will be required to give effect to it, even if agreement is reached with the industry.

“Nobody is going to get ripped of in the transition from the current system to a pay-by-weight system. What I want to say is I am certainly not going to allow a situation where any company will use a change in pricing structure to hike up charges,” he said.

“That is why I have asked the industry to support me to ensure that we would have a 12-month period where households get used to the idea.”

There is a political imperative on the Government to come up with proposals on Tuesday. Two separate Oireachtas motions have been tabled by the Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit and Sinn Féin with a view to reversing the changes.

The AAA-PBP motion falls well short of its own position. It calls for the changes to be reversed but does not call on collection services to be returned to public ownership.

AAA-PBP TD Paul Murphy said the alliance remained committed to that position but the "more limited position" outlined in the motion was a tactical manoeuvre designed to "apply massive pressure on Fianna Fáil" to support its motion.