Labour Group Statement On The Bin Changover

The Labour Party on Dublin City Council have called on the City Council management to explain why the changeover process to Greyhound Recycling was not managed efficiently.

Cllr Rebecca Moynihan, speaking on behalf of the group says “the whole changeover process to Greyhound has been a disaster. Residents were not informed of the changes in a timely manner, bins were left out on the streets for days and people have been confused about the paying of arrears. The City Council management should have allowed adequate time for a smooth handover, which would have averted the chaos we saw last week”.

“As a result of the changeover Councillors are worried about the effect that the privatisation of the service will have on illegal dumping. We are calling on the government to levy the waste management sector to pay for the additional costs of street cleaning and dumping which will arise from this”.

“While we welcome the provision Greyhound made last week for people to pay the standing charge in two installments, it does not go far enough. The current installment payment is only for customers who sign up to the automatic top up service. Greyhound need to widen this to allow all customers to pay their standing charge in installments”.

Ends

Note to editors

The Special Dublin City Council meeting takes place on Monday 23rd of January at 6.45pm in City HallMotion in the name of the Labour Group reads as

This City Council recognising that waste management is a function of the executive calls on

- The City Manger to provide the City Council at it’s next meeting with a detailed outline of what proposed logistical and communication tasks required throughout the changeover process were in place, what was the timetable for these, who was responsible for the successful execution of each element of the changeover process and where this plan failed

- Asks that the City Manager to outline what data protection advice he had received in relation to transferring the details of arrears owed to Dublin City Council to Greyhound and to detail what agreement has been reached with Greyhound for the collection of these arrears

-  Calls for a regulatory framework for all waste providers operating in the City. We further call on central government to levy all licensed waste providers to cover the additional costs of street cleaning and dumping in the City

- That this Council conscious of the financial difficulties being experienced by so many call for a National Waiver scheme to be implemented. We ask that the City Manager enter into further discussions with Greyhound, with a view to permitting residents to submit an application for a waiver to Dublin City Council up to 29th of February and be considered for same, to cover the current year.

For further information please contact Cllr Rebecca Moynihan 087 9566588

City Council Live Webcast from 6.45pm 23rd January 2012

Watch the special Dublin City Council meeting on the bin changeover here City Council Live Webcast from 6.45pm

Dublin City Council Bins Motion

 

Following the disaster that has been the bin changeover this week and the huge distress that the previously un-communicated up front standing charge payment is causing, I have submitted the following motion Environment and Engineering SPC. The meeting will take place tomorrow at 3.30 pm  in City Hall. You can watch the meeting live here http://www.dublincity.public-i.tv/core/

Motion in the name of Cllr Rebecca Moynihan 

“Noting the decision of Management to agree a waste collection transfer arrangement with the Greyhound Company and not seeking to re-open  that aspect of the decision, this Committee expresses its deep dissatisfaction with the requirement that customers of that service must pay an upfront fee of E100 in order to have the service provided.

Recognising the financial difficulties facing many citizens in these times in general but in the post Christmas period in particular the. Committee requests the Manager to”negotiate a facility to enable residents pay the standing charge in stages rather than a once off  “up front” payment and that all relevant payments could be made through a Standing order process.”

Bin Collection Changeover – January 2012

As you may already be aware the Dublin City Council bin service is being handed over to Greyhound Recycling from the week beginning 16th January. The Labour group on the City Council opposed the privatisation of this service, but under the Protection of the Environment Act 2003, which was enacted by Fianna Fail, the decision to privatise the service was within the power of Dublin City Council management. The Council voted on a number of occasions to oppose the privatisation, but our wishes were ignored by the Council management.

With a drip feed of information being fed to both Councillors and residents, there are likely to be significant problems with the bin service during the changeover. If you are having any problems with your service you can contact to Greyhound Recycling directly on 1890 98 99 98 by email dublincity@greyhound.ie or get in touch with me on by ringing  0879566588 or e-mailing Rebecca.e.moynihan@gmail.com

Please find below a list of key details relating to the changeover which you may find helpful.

Payment to Greyhound

The current Annual Service Charge will be maintained for 2012. You are required to pay the Annual Service Charge within 30 days, from Monday 16th January. Greyhound will not collect bins from households who have not paid the Annual Service Charge within the 30 days.

The current annual service charge is: 

240 litre Black Bin – €100    

140 litre Black Bin – €80

 

Price Per Lift

240 litre Black Bin – €6        

140 litre Black Bin – €3.60     

Brown Bin – €2

 

Greyhound will send you your customer Payment Card. This card includes your customer account number. Please note that Greyhound operates a pre pay system. You are required to ensure that your Greyhound account has sufficient funds to meet the current cost of each black and brown bin lift. If you do not have sufficient funds in your account for the cost of a Black or Brown bin, you will not have your bin collected. You can top up – On-line at www.greyhound.ie, at local shops using Payzone or at any post office

 

Green Bins

You will receive a bar-coded label for your green bin once you have paid the Annual Service Charge. Once you place this label on your green bin, you will have your green bin collected free of charge. Green bins presented for collection without the bar-coded label will not be collected.

Tags

If you use bin tags Greyhound will continue to provide this service for areas that have no bins. Your Dublin City Council tags will still be valid until 16th March 2012. After this you can buy Greyhound issued tags from your normal outlets. The cost for bag labels will remain unchanged for an initial period of at least 6 months.

Waivers

Any customer who had a waiver of the standing charge approved by the City Council at 9th December 2011 will continue to benefit from a waiver with Greyhound for 2012.

As a waiver customer you are not required to pay the annual charge for 2012.

If your account is in credit

Any credit that you may have on your account will not transfer to Greyhound Recycling. Refunds will be considered on application to the Revenue Unit of Dublin City Council accompanied with proof of who made the initial payment.

Outstanding Charges

Dublin City Council operated a system of quarterly payments.  You will receive a bill to cover the period 1st October 2011 to the 16th January 2012. The bill will be issued by Greyhound Recycling who will be collecting outstanding monies on behalf of Dublin City Council.

Arrears

If you currently have arrears on your account after 16th January 2012, customers pay Greyhound directly for any outstanding monies owed.

Dublin City Council Recycling Centres

Dublin City Council’s Recycling Centres will continue to operate as normal. Bagged household domestic waste will continue to be accepted at both Ringsend and North Strand Recycling Centres. A charge of €4 applies for each 80 litre bag of domestic waste disposed of.

Snow Update- Sunday 28th November

The Council has been spreading salt on all national primary,secondary and appropriate regional roads. In addition all main public transport routes and cross connecting routes are receiving salt. The Council has adequate stockpiles of salt and further quantities are available if required. The NRA have been tasked to source all salt supplies for the Country.
The Council will also be mobilizing additional workforce of 500 on Monday morning (29th November) to commence clearing footpaths, shopping areas and public transport hubs. Crews will initially be working in the same areas as last January when the previous cold spell occurred.
The Council would encourage all householders and shopkeepers to attend to the footpaths outside their dwelling and premises, particularly where no salting of the roads has been carried out. Legal opinion provided to the minister states that where common sense is applied to the clearing of footpaths then there will be no liability attaching.
Met Eireann forecast that this severe weather will continue, at least ,to next weekend.
The following websites may be of interest for additional information on travel services and precautions that be taken for a safe journey:
www.dublincity.ie
www.met.ie
www.transport.ie
www.rsa.ie
www.dublinbus.ie
www.rpa.ie
www.irishrail.ie
www.nra.ie
www.buseireann.ie

Women’s Aid 16 Days of Action Against Domestic Violence

Motion I submitted to November City Council. ‘To mark the 16 days of action against domestic violence, this City Council agrees to draft a violence against women policy. This policy will address access to DCC services for victims of domestic violence, in particular access to housing services’

Dart Underground Rail Order Lodged

In July Irish Rail submitted a railway order to An Bord Pleanala for the Dart Underground project which will run from Spencer Dock serving Pearse st, Stephens Green, Christchurch, Houston and Inchicore. The line will run directly underneath the historic CIE Estate in Inchicore with construction beginning in 2012 and estimated to finish in 2018. I have been working with residents to ensure that proper lines of communication are in place between the residents and Irish rail and that we develop a master plan for the Inchicore area to deal with the increase of people and activity in the area.

A copy of the Draft Railway Order and documents accompanying the application may be inspected, free of charge, during normal office or opening hours from the 7th July 2010 for the duration of 6 weeks until Wednesday 18th August 2010 at:

An Bord Pleanála, 64 Marlborough Street, Dublin 1

Dublin City Council, Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8

Heuston Station, Dublin 8

Pearse Station, Dublin 2

CIÉ Inchicore Works, (Inchicore Parade Entrance), Dublin 8.

 The closing date for submissions/observations to An Bord Pleanála is 18^th August 2010.

For more information on the Dart Underground plans you can access all the documents here http://www.dartundergroundrailwayorder.ie/

City Council agress to establish a Dublin City Farm

An example of an urban farm in Brooklyn

At its monthly meeting of Dublin City Council, councillors unanimously supported my motion to establish a Dublin City Farm. The idea of urban farming is gaining popularity all over the world with farms in all major cities. We have lots of vacant land in Dublin, which won’t be developed in the short term. A city farm will regenerate the inner city at low expense and provide a valuable resource for the city. Dublin City Council should be leading the way on urban sustainability. Developing a city farm as the green quarter of the city is a key step towards this goal.

If you would like to be involved in bringing this idea forward please contact me at rebecca.moynihan@dublincity.ie or on 087 9566588.

Report complaints to Dublin City Council online

Dublin City Council have launched a new service which allows you to log your complaints with the Council online. If you have anything you would like to report click on the below link

http://www.dublincity.ie/YourCouncil/Pages/isupport.aspx

International women’s day is my favourite day of the year. It is the day that celebrates the achievements of the women’s movement but reminds us of the huge struggle we still have to achieve real equality for women. This year Dublin City Council has a week of events to celebrate the women of the city. I hope you can make it along to some of them

http://www.dublincity.ie/Community/Pages/InternationalWomensDay.aspx