Proposals on waste re-municipalisation and increased security on public transport contained within the Dublin City Taskforce report, published on 21st October, must be implemented as a matter of urgency, says SIPTU.
SIPTU Deputy General Secretary and Dublin City Taskforce member, Ethel Buckley, said: “I was very pleased to be involved in this Taskforce to ensure trade union values were voiced concerning proposals for the revitalisation of Dublin city centre. While the report contains ten very important ‘Big Moves’ we believe that its recommendations on changes to waste policy in the capital and the need to improve security on public transport services are priorities for our members.
“Our Union has long campaigned for the re-municipalisation of domestic waste services. Ireland’s experience since these services were privatised has been negative for consumers, the environment and workers. We wish to see a quick implementation of the proposal to move to a tendering process for waste services on an area-by-area basis rather than for multiple services operating on the same routes. Such a move is necessary if, as this report states, we are to move on a phased basis towards the re-municipalisation of waste services.”
“Similarly, we welcome the statement in the report that there should be an ‘extension and expansion’ of security on our public transport network. This and the waste proposals are key to the report’s overall aim to assist in the revitalisation of Dublin city centre. This has been a concern of our Union since the Justice for the Clerys Workers campaign, which followed the closure of this Dublin city centre landmark, resulting in more than 300 SIPTU members losing their jobs. At that time we expressed our concerns about the closure’s impact on the local area and the need for it to be redeveloped in a manner which benefited the wider city centre community.”
SIPTU Transport, Energy, Aviation and Construction Divisional Organiser, Adrian Kane, said: “When local authorities operated the system all domestic waste was collected and those who couldn’t afford the service were subsidised by local government. Without this subvention, it increases the likelihood of illegal dumping. We have designed a dysfunctional system which directly results in increased illegal dumping, environmental damage through the duplication of services and costs the consumer financially.”
He added: “There needs to be a radical reform of the domestic waste collection system which would allow public bodies to re-enter it, as has happened in other countries. This is also why our last state-owned waste collection service, provided by Bord na Móna, must not be sold off merely for short-term profit.”
Buckley added: “We welcome the establishment of an implementation group to oversee the progress of this Taskforce report’s recommendations. The Taoiseach has also announced that he would ensure that funding is made available to make these plans a reality.
This report’s recommendations must now be included in political party manifestos and any future Programme for Government.”
Click HERE to read the report of the Taoiseach’s Taskforce for Dublin.