Anti-refuse charge protesters picket council HQ

PROTESTERS from across Waterford travelled to Dungarvan yesterday to protest the introduction of an annual flat charge of €150 for refuse collection service.

Having picketed Waterford County Council’s administrative headquarters in advance of the monthly meeting, representatives of Householders Against Service Charges had a 45-minute meeting with senior council officials headed by county manager Ray O’Dwyer and director of services Denis McCarthy.

However, while there was little progress made yesterday, protestors vowed to carry on their campaign. Two of the 23 elected councillors, Sinn Féin’s Brendan Mansfield and Labour’s Teresa Wright, refused to pass the protesters and stayed away from the meeting in a show of solidarity.

Inside the chamber, however, and despite a chorus of calls on the county manager to revisit a waiver system belatedly introduced for the charge, Mr O’Dwyer insisted there could be no “about turn”.

Fine Gael’s Cllr Ann Marie Power led the barrage of opposition to what she described as “an inequitable and discriminatory” waiver system that has excluded the most vulnerable in society from qualifying for it. “I am proposing,” said Ms Power, “that it be withdrawn, that the officials go back to the drawing board, and come back at a later stage with a fairer system.” Seconding the proposal, her party colleague, Cllr Nora Flynn, said there should have been a lot more thought put into what is an unacceptable waiver system.

The council’s financial controller, Michael Quinn, said they couldn’t come up with a waiver system that would be more fair and equitable with the information that was available to them.

“We have tried to ensure that it will benefit people in greatest need,” said Mr Quinn, “and is as fair and as reasonable as could be, given the information we have available to us.”

County manager Ray O’Dwyer again stoutly defended his introduction of the €150 flat fee, adding that even though it has been a very unpopular decision, it is one he still stands over. “We either run our refuse collection on a non-profit basis but ensuring that it pays its way or we get out of waste collection altogether,” the manager said.

“We are either in or out of it.”

However, Mr O’Dwyer said that to introduce that system would cost a substantial amount of money which the council hasn’t got.

“If we want to continue our very successful waste management programme then we don’t have any choice in relation to the €150 charge,” said Mr O’Dwyer.

“And the more waivers we offer, the more expensive the service will be for everyone else.”