Council waste crisis spills into public

WATERFORD County Council last night controversially held a meeting about the possible contracting out of part of its waste service in private last night.

Members of both the Sinn Féin and Labour party strongly disagreed with the decision, believing that the public should be allowed to hear the debate.

The local authority is in a waste crisis and faces the prospect of having to double its refuse and recycling charges from next year. There have also been problems with the brown bin or composting bin service, with a handful of households contaminating it with dead animals and non-recyclable waste.

Yesterday evening, members of Waterford County Council voted by a clear majority that a meeting about the future of the waste service be held in private. It was to be held this Friday, but councillors at yesterday afternoon’s session agreed it might be better to discuss matters sooner.

There was considerable anger that the proposal to even consider contracting out the service had been leaked from a private meeting of the council to the local media last week.

Sinn Féin’s Brendan Mansfield was among the key opponents to holding the session behind closed doors. “This is another example of how the council is trying to railroad through people,” he said.

But county mayor John Carey said the council is a team and should be working together. He said they should honour the wishes of those advising the council and hold the meeting in private. The motion was carried by over half of the council members.