The mayor of Limerick has said that Limerick City Council would be breaking the law if it paid a controversial bin collection charge for people on a waiver scheme.
In a statement issued yesterday, councillor Diarmuid Scully said that Limerick City Council was legally precluded from paying the bill for the period from January to June 2005, following a recent High Court ruling.
The row started after refuse contractor Mr Binman issued bills to more than 3,000 low-income Limerick residents demanding full payment for bin collections during the first six months of this year.
The council always maintained that it was not liable for the bin collection charge, estimated at €250,000, because Mr Binman had taken out an injunction against the local authority during a High Court dispute.
As part of that settlement, Mr Binman agreed to continue collecting bins around the city and now it has issued bills to low-income residents on the waiver scheme.
Some of the residents, who include pensioners and people from disadvantaged areas, have already paid the bill and councillors have urged Mr Binman to return the money.
The statement from Mr Scully confirmed yesterday that Mr Binman had been contracted to collect waste from qualifying low-income households for the period July to December 2005 and he urged people to continue to leave out their bins.
"Limerick City Council is the only local authority in the Mid-West region that operates a waiver scheme. It remains the intention of all members of Limerick City Council that this waiver scheme continues."
The refuse contractor has already warned that some of its 200 employees may lose their jobs if the bill for the first six months of 2005 is not recouped.