Bin collection charges will be decided by local authority executives rather than elected councillors if legislation published today is passed into law. Opposition parties say the move could lead to annual charges of up to €700.
The power to decide regional waste management plans will also pass from elected representatives to city and county managers under the plan unveiled by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen.
The Bill is an attempt to prevent ongoing difficulties in setting domestic charges in particular, by removing the political aspect of the decision-making process.
Dublin City Council came within hours of being abolished by the Minister earlier this month because councillors could not agree on a domestic waste collection charges.
And a Supreme Court ruling in 2001 decided that while local authorities could levy charges, they could not refuse to collect domestic waste from homes where the charges were unpaid.
The Protection of the Environment Bill 2003 is an attempt to overcome the judgment, Mr Cullen said.
"It is simply not acceptable that people who refuse to pay for their waste service should have the luxury of having their waste collected," said Minister Cullen. He added, however, that local authorities could maintain waiver schemes for those who genuinely cannot afford the charge.
The Green Party and Labour have both warned charges up to €700 could be levied in some cases and have pledged to resist the direct imposition of charges without political input.
Green Party environment spokesperson Mr Ciarán Cuffe also warned of the danger of incineration being introduced through the 'back door'.
"As waste charges rise, local councillors will be unable to modify waste plans to encourage waste reduction, re-use and recycling. County Managers will be able to build incinerators wherever they wish across the country," Mr Cuffe warned.
Labour environment spokesperson, Mr Eamon Gilmore said the Bill was a "back-door taxation" that, based on Mr Cullen's figures, would bring "the total average cost per household to between €600 and €700 per year."
Among the measures proposed in the Bill are:
- provision for revocation or suspension of licences where there are serious breaches of the "fit and proper person" requirements
- increases in fines for breaches of licence provisions
- local authorities are being given explicit power to discontinue the collection of domestic waste in the event of non-payment of charges
- local authorities have powers to impose, as an executive function, charges for the provision of any waste service
- Increased litter fines
- the variation or replacement of a waste management plan will become an executive function, i.e. a matter for local authority managers
- New powers for bye-laws covering issues such as the provision and use of supermarket trolleys and placing obligations on businesses to wash the public area outside of their premises