The bin charges mess is not just a public relations shambles for the fragile new Government. It also raises fundamental questions about the State’s ability to cope with long-term challenges, especially in respect to financial planning and the environment.
Coming on top of the water charges fiasco, it saps public confidence in the competence of the Dáil.
Populist posturing by politicians on all sides of the house is a poor substitute for strong government and long-term planning.
That there are many well-intentioned Deputies in the Dáil is not in doubt. What is in doubt is their ability to deliver. A 12-month waste charge freeze is no solution.
The collection of bins was already problematic. In a tiny country like Ireland it is hard to understand why we already suffer wildly varying bin charges and collections. The system is all over the place.
If the current “competitive” system of bin collection makes theoretical sense for market idealists, it is hard to see how it can be environmentally friendly. Heavy trucks criss-cross the country to collect rubbish, trundling down narrow roads one after the other to too many dumps.
Private lobbying
Waste collection privatisation was rushed and we may never know why. Well-resourced private lobbying has been largely invisible to the public but can provide Deputies and councils with statistics or one-sided arguments that seem overwhelming.
Privatisation took place partly to cut costs to councils, including wages, when negotiation with unions was thought unlikely to do so significantly. The option of controlled private franchising has been stymied by a court challenge.
Why was it not obvious to Ministers that any private charges for water and for waste collection should have been introduced gradually to test the equity of the system and to allow customers see what was fair and proportionate to usage?
Having botched water charges, Fine Gael failed to foresee that its plan for bin charges was deeply flawed.
If this is how simple systems of water and bin charges are managed, what confidence can we have that Ireland’s course has been well charted in the choppy waters of a global economy?
The Opposition cannot simply blame Government. The Oireachtas committee system is inadequate. Sessions are rambling, with some Deputies absent or wandering in and out. Reports are often unfocused, either because committees have not met enough or due to inadequate knowledge or disagreement.
The unstable new Dáil is likely to be even more prone to populism. Already voices are raised on bin charges that suggest that these should be met by the central exchequer regardless of use.
Strong
measures The potential environmental disaster facing an overpopulated
planet calls for strong measures. While many citizens recognise this fact, changing our lifestyles was never going to be easy. The handling of water and bin charges has made it harder.
People are suspicious that the cost of environmental protection is being shouldered unevenly. While ordinary citizens are expected to pay, big corporations roll on making money.
Many citizens accept that, beyond a certain reasonable free allowance per person, people should pay for excess bin waste or water consumption. But what many fear is the underlying direction of the management of such resources, ultimately destined for the hands of multinationals.
And while people pay to dispose of waste, much waste comes from packaging by companies that seem under little or no real pressure to reduce packaging or to use only environmentally friendly material.
The environmental trust deficit is not just about bins and water. Diesel cars were, for example, marketed widely as fuel efficient and thus ostensibly environmentally friendly. The government benignly stood by as many drivers switched to diesel. Neither car companies nor the State drew attention to the carcinogenic particle emissions of diesel, now revealed as some car companies are found to have cheater testers. This devalues the cars of Irish citizens, and could cost the State millions in healthcare.
Another example of distrust is the ticking time-bomb of septic tanks. New regulations are not yet being widely enforced. Controversy is likely to explode as thousands of septic tanks in Ireland are deemed unfit for purpose. Without inspections many people will lack certificates necessary to sell their houses, and the EU will ultimately impose large fines on Ireland.
A temporary fix for bin charges by an unstable Dáil falls far short of the standard of long-term financial and environmental planning needed to carry Ireland forward.