The Department of the Environment yesterday denied reports of a rift with Brussels about EU calls for refuse collection charges in Dublin, Patrick Smyth reports.
A spokesman for the Department said the "whole thrust of our policy is in line with the `polluter pays' principle" and the four Dublin authorities had agreed to charges which they intend to implement as soon as practicable. The spokesman confirmed that a letter had been received from the Commission in connection with the proposed cohesion funding of a refuse baling plant in Ballymount, Co Dublin. Waste will be transferred from there to Kill, Co Kildare.
The Commission is understood to have reiterated its "polluter pays" policy and its wish to see those producing refuse contribute to the cost of disposal, although the £6.8 million funding for Ballymount is not conditional on charges being introduced. The EU has recently increased pressure on member-states to clean up their acts environmentally.