Responsibility for the proposes system of Bin charges and related matters has now been designated to the Minister for Communications, Climate Action & Environment, Denis Naughten TD.
The move came following the official sign-off by Cabinet on the name change and remit of Minister Naughten’s Department.
On Tuesday Minister Simon Coveney, who had held responsibility for the issue, announced that an agreement had been reached with the waste industry to defer the introduction of charges until July 2017.
Under the Government plan customers will over time be able to see, through a dual billing process, details in their bills about the amount of waste they are disposing of, their costs under the continuation of their current price plan and details of the comparative pay-by-weight charge.
Minister Coveney said “It’s vital that, if households become more efficient in segregating waste and reducing their waste bills, they will have the opportunity to choose to transition during this period to pay-by-weight charging or, if they prefer, they can opt to remain on their current price plan.”
Over the next 12 months Minister Denis Naughten, in partnership with the waste industry, will drive an intensive public awareness, information and promotion campaign to support customers in understanding the new system, how they can change their waste management behaviour and better manage their waste costs under the pay-by-weight system.
At the end of this 12-month transition period (in July 2017), the Government will review the operation of pay-by-weight, including the effectiveness of the transition process, and make decisions regarding its further roll-out, regulation and oversight of the sector.