DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL (DCC) is slowly drawing closer to regaining control of the city’s domestic waste collection, with a cross-party Oireachtas working group set up to explore the matter today. 

DCC councillors met with TDs, Senators and trade union representatives today in what turned out to be a successful attempt at rallying support for their plans to re-enter the market for domestic waste collection.

A number of councillors, led by Sinn Féin’s Daithí Doolan, have long fought to regain control of Dublin city’s waste collection services but have been met with various road blocks over the years.

Today's meeting in Leinster House Daithí Doolan Daithí Doolan

Today, they received the support of a number of TDs and Senators, with a cross-party working group set up to research the remunicipalisation of the service, draft legislation and guide it through the Oireachtas.

The need for legislation on the matter was established after an independent report by the Institute of Public Administration warned that there could be major legal challenges from existing private refuse collection companies without laws being in place.

Speaking to The Journal, Cllr. Doolan said that his preference would be for DCC to manage refuse collection directly or for a regional operation to be put in place under the four local authorities. 

“What happens in Dublin is unique. Globally, there is nowhere else in the world where the waste management process is as chaotic as it is here,” Doolan said.

He added that Dublin is the “Wild West of Europe” when it comes to waste collection.

The cross-party working group set up today included Labour senator Marie Sherlock, Fianna Fáil TD Paul McAuliffe, Independent TD Joan Collins and Sinn Féin TD Darren O’Rourke.

“I’m personally of the view that this isn’t just about the bins. This is a bigger conversation about how we manage waste within our communities,” Marie Sherlock told The Journal.

“Local Authorities should be providing waste collection services. It’s composting, recycling, and of course the black bin waste as well.

“Ideally we want the local authority to ultimately have responsibility for how these services are provided in their area.

“We don’t necessarily need to reinvent the wheel here. There are brilliant examples in many European cities of how they manage waste,” Sherlock added.