Waste charge arrears silence

Stubbs Gazette says it won’t be publishing the names of thousands of people who have failed to pay a combined €1.5 million in refuse collection charges owed to Cork County Council.

The private debt-collection agency, which was brought in by the council to collect outstanding charges, said it wouldn’t be printing the names of those who failed to pay because it only does this if a judgement has been granted against defaulters in the courts.

The council sold its refuse collection business to private contractors Country Clean in 2010 and then had to pursue the money it was owed by its former customers.

In the spring of 2013 it decided to farm-out the debt-collection to Stubbs Gazette, which managed to retrieve just €296,000 of it.

It is estimated that nearly 6,000 people have avoided paying their arrears.

The appointment of the debt-collection agency proved controversial with many councillors at the time and is expected to get another airing at a council meeting in County Hall next Monday.

Cllr Tim Lombard (FG), who acquired the figures earlier this week from council officials, said he would be seeking the answer to a number of questions.

Cllr Lombard said it needed to be clarified if Stubbs Gazette was used because defaulters might think that they would appear in its listings if they didn’t pay up, which is now obviously not the case. I also want to know what Stubbs Gazette was paid by the council for its services and what the council expected would be collected,” he said.

A total of 6,800 names were given to the company. It informed the council that it had collected €296,628.57 and advised that the outstanding €1,499,451.77 should be written off as uncollectable.

“In many ways this was a fruitless exercise and I want to know what the council’s next course of action will be,” Cllr Lombard said.

Back in 2013 several councillors maintained that council staff should have pursued the debts itself.