Those on low incomes and the elderly may have to pay ?150 to ?200 in bin charges next year, if plans contained in next year's city council estimates get the go-ahead.

City Manager Joe MacGrath.

City Manager Joe MacGrath is proposing to introduce waste charges in the 2008 budget for those currently in receipt of a waiver ? a group made up of the elderly and people on low incomes.

In 2006, 3,100 people received a waiver on their waste. A thousand of these were elderly, 631 were those on disability benefit, including carers, and an additional 500 were those on unemployment assistance. This in total was costing the city council in the region of €1 million per annum. 'While the council has traditionally made provision to lighten the financial burden of low income households and will continue to do so, the provision of a full wavier in its current format is financially unsustainable and will threaten the long term viability of the service,' said Mr MacGrath in his report.

The proposal has already been met with strong opposition from Councillor Colette Connolly. Cllr Connolly, who is Chairperson of the City Development Board and its subgroup on Social Inclusion, said: "The decision to include charges for waste collection is disgraceful and a retrograde step.

"The shortfall of €1 million to the council has been flagged for the last number of years and, although it is a deficit, the council has to make it up. It cannot punish the most vulnerable in our society. The councillors in deliberating briefly on the budget over two meetings at the Corporate Policy Group (CPG) made their unwillingness known to the city manager that any tampering with the waiver would not be tolerated," she said.

"Yet councillors are now presented with a draft budget with the inclusion of charges, despite the fact that no indications were ever received by councillors at the CPG that the manager intended to change the policy. The decision to apply a waiver only to the standard fixed charge, which is now €159, is just the first step towards the abolition of the waiver system in its entirety.

"The local authority's waste collection service is facing a crisis, principally because of government policy in relation to the provision of waivers. Government policy firstly fails to reimburse local authorities for operating a waiver system and secondly fails to adequately fund local authorities, particularly Galway, which receives less in local government grants than Limerick," concluded Cllr Connolly.

In a separate development, Galway city council is warning people to be aware of illegal bin collectors this Christmas. Whether people are doing a big or small clear-out, they should ensure that all waste collectors have a waste collection permit.

All collectors of waste should hold a valid waste collection permit and it is an offence to provide waste to someone that does not have a permit.

"This means that if you give your waste to an illegal waste collector, you are liable for prosecution and fines of up to €3,000 can be incurred. You wouldn't allow someone into your house to fix your heating without first checking their authenticity and reliability. Often waste is collected from a household and, rather than being disposed of responsibly and legally, it is just dumped in a field or laneway. Your waste is your responsibility," said a spokesperson for the city council.

For more information on correct waste disposal phone 091-536595.

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