Madam, - From January 1st all local authorities were obliged by law to introduce "pay by weight" charges for domestic refuse collection.
Superficially, the principle that "the polluter pays" is a fair and reasonable one. However, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, the local authority which in its 10 years of existence has established a reputation as the most voracious for revenue of the four authorities in the Dublin metropolitan area, has come up with a wizard wheeze to use "pay by weight" as a rationalisation for extracting an interest-free loan from the denizens of its area.
According to a note circulated to all households in this area charges will consist of:
(a) a standing charge of €80 a year per household;
(b) an additional charge of €4 each time the bin is emptied;
(c) a further pro-rata charge of 20 cent per kilogram of domestic waste collected.
So far, so good. The charges appear reasonable and relatively fair. However, the council has announced that it will issue fixed bills of €350 - yes, that's three hundred and fifty euro - "early in 2005", and payable by two equal instalments on February 28th and July 31st. So what about "pay by weight" and "the polluter pays"?
Remembering that the council's standing charge is €80 a year, which amounts to €12.31 on a pro rata basis for the eight weeks to the end of February, plus a maximum of €32 for eight weekly collections, the householder would, by my calculations, need to dispose of 653.5 kilos, or more than half a ton of rubbish over an eight-week period to justify a payment of €175 by the end of February! Given that the council will not empty an overflowing bin, this is almost a physical impossibility. It seems, therefore, that the council is on to a nice little earner from most of those willing to pay this demand in full.
In a further explanatory note attached to the circular, the council grandly announces that "depending on their usage, householders may accumulate credit or debit on their accounts" and that "any debit or credit adjustment will be applied to the householder's first 2006 Environmental Waste Charge bill".
The Dublin City Manager, John Fitzgerald, appearing on RTÉ's Prime Time on January 20th, expressed the (presumably informed) opinion that the average annual household bill for refuse collection should be one of the order of €200. Where does this leave Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council's attempt to extract what amounts to an interest-free loan of varying amounts upwards of €150 from each household within its jurisdiction? This is blatantly inequitable and perhaps illegal and I should be interested to learn the views of other potential victims. - Yours, etc.,
ADRIAN J. ENGLISH, Glenageary, Co Dublin.