Many households are being deprived of the refuse waiver because of the Galway City Council’s “rigid enforcement of the financial limits”.
This is the view of Independent councillor Catherine Connolly, who said the situation is “causing great hardship”.
To qualify for a waiver, she said, the weekly income limits for two or more persons is €440 whether that income is through pension alone and/or in combination with the income from a Carer’s allowance. For a single person it is €240.
However Cllr Connolly has received “urgent representations” from people who have been deprived of a waiver simply because their income limit has “increased marginally by between €10 and €15 a week” although the source of their income remains exactly the same - ie, pension, disability, and/or combined with Carer’s allowance.
“Because of a slight increase in their weekly income the city council has written to them confirming that they are no longer entitled to a waiver,” she said. “These households have been in receipt of and entitled to a waiver for years and have a legitimate expectation in relation to being granted a waiver this year.”
As a result, Cllr Connolly proposed a motion at last Monday’s city council meeting calling on city manager Joe MacGrath “not to deprive those households of a waiver where the sources of income have remained exactly the same and where the slight increase in income is as a result of the Government budget”.
The motion was passed by all the city councillors with the exception of the Fianna Fáil councillors.
