COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

south dublin county council crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, May 09, 2011

QUESTION NO. 2

QUESTION: Councillor B. Bonner

To ask the Manager for an account of the deal between South Dublin County Council and Greyhound Waste which resulted in the recent privatisation of the bin service.  This account to include

1. Price paid by Greyhound

2. What exactly is included for that price

3. What commitment has been made by Greyhound in relation to the Waiver Scheme

4. What commitment has been made by Greyhound in relation to maintaining a free green bin service?

REPLY:

In relation to the consideration for the sale of the service, the detailed financial terms of the sale are legally confidential however the price paid by Greyhound was the highest of the bids received and is comparable with other successful disposals of large waste collection businesses by our colleagues in other local authorities.  The final sum - including savings accruing to the Council arising from the sale - will be available when all contractual obligations are resolved and following a customer numbers verification process. Replies to Items 1 & 2 are not therefore available at the present time.

As part of the bidding process the Council sought and received a commitment that waivers would remain in place for a 12 month period following the sale.  Existing waiver customers will therefore receive the same benefit for that period.  There were no outstanding applications when the sale was completed and the total number of waiver customers in the county is 18,884.  In addition the new Programme for Government - Government for National Recovery - has stated that there is an intention to introduce a public service obligation which would include a national fee waiver scheme for low income households.

The Green Bin Service, formerly offered by the Council, is a key part of the service now being offered by Greyhound. It is a requirement of the Waste Bye Laws for this county, and therefore of the Waste Collection Permits for all domestic waste providers, that a Green Bin service be provided to Customers as part of any domestic Waste Collection Service.  It should be noted that while the green bin service was free to the consumer it was paid for by the local authority and the cost was built into overall cost and figured into integrated charge to customers.