Age Action has warned that Dublin City Council’s decision to charge some of its poorest citizens for rubbish collection will add to the financial hardship being faced by pensioners.
Dublin City councillors voted by a two-to-one majority last night in favour of a budget that includes the introduction of waste charges for 40,000 of Dublin’s poorest households for the first time.
Low income households have been exempt from paying for refuse collection since the charges were introduced in 2001. In the 2010 budget those on waivers would remain exempt from an annual fee, but would have to pay charges of up to €6 each time their bin was emptied, which if paid, could generate €8 million a year for the council.
Age Action spokesman Eamon Timmins said the decision will result in the council taking up to €8 million a year out of the pockets of older people.
“Dublin City Councillors had recognised the plight of these people in the past and lived up to their responsibility to protect the most vulnerable by allowing them a waiver,” he said. “But now, faced with new prescription and carbon charges in 2010, older people in Dublin city will also have to budget for bin charges from their fixed incomes.”
Mr Timmins said older people in other parts of Ireland, where there were no waiver schemes operated, often shared bins to keep down the collection charges. “Older people and their communities need to come together now to explore how they can cap these new costs and limit the hardship they will cause,” Mr Timmins said.
