A Cork Labour Party TD is threatening to take legal action against the local city council for refusing to pick up waste from householders who are failing to comply with a new tagging scheme introduced last month.
Under the new scheme householders are charged a standing annual refuse collection fee of €255 and then must tag their bin with either €3 or €5 tags depending on their size to ensure they are collected weekly by local authority staff.
Ms Kathleen Lynch is examining the possibility of taking legal action against the council over its non-collection policy, arguing that it is contrary to the legal obligation of local authorities.
"Under the Waste Management Act the city manager has a duty to keep all public areas free of litter. This is a legal obligation that is not being complied with," she said yesterday.
Ms Lynch said the manager is on one hand entitled to prosecute those responsible for littering, but his duty is also to clear the offending waste.
The Cork North Central TD says householders in Cork are now paying up to €500 a year for their refuse disposal, a figure she claims is "completely unreasonable" for families on low incomes.
She claims it is hardly surprisingly that illegal dumping is going on because some sections of the community cannot afford to pay high refuse charges on top of increasingly expensive utility and mortgage bills.
Ms Lynch has also called for an immediate resumption of a full collection service in order to prevent Cork's year as European City of Culture from turning in to a shambles.
A Cork City Council representative was not available for comment yesterday afternoon. However, the council has previously insisted it will not collect waste unless householders comply with the new tagging system.
A waiver scheme is in place for people who are suffering financial hardship and are not in a position to pay the waste fees. Last week the city manager, Mr Joe Gavin, said most householders were compliant and were putting out tagged bins and dry recyclables for separate collection.