THE GREEN Party was accused yesterday of reversing its position on a national waiver for domestic waste charges since entering the coalition.
Joanna Tuffy, the Labour Party spokeswoman on the environment, said that in opposition the Green Party had campaigned against the current system which leaves the matter of a waiver in the hands of each local authority.
"This leads to unfairness and inequality among poor households because whether or not you get a waiver from waste charges depends on where you live in the country," Ms Tuffy said.
"If you live in one county and qualify for your council's waiver, you pay no waste charges. But if you live in another part of the country, where no waiver operates, you can be faced with waste charges of up to €500 a year."
She said that almost half of local authorities had no waiver scheme and only a handful of private collectors have agreed to a waiver scheme.
Ms Tuffy claimed that Environment Miister John Gormley has made a "point-blank refusal" to introduce a national waiver scheme.
"When I raised the issue in the Dáil with him recently he washed his hands of the issue and said that it was a matter for local authorities, or the private waste collectors, to decide whether or not to provide a waiver scheme," she said.
However, a Green Party spokesman insisted there had been no U-turn and that a review of waste disposal was under way.
