NAAS, 18 December 2001: by Trish Whelan. Labour Deputy, Emmet Stagg, has expressed his amazement that a contractor who is collecting domestic refuse in Naas has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for illegal dumping of waste.

"I am now calling for a full investigation of the actions of this
contractor who is acting with the blessing of Naas UDC in the privatised refuse service.

I want to know if he has been issued with a Refuse Collection Licence
by the UDC as is required by the Waste Management Act. What are the terms of that licence and what mechanism is in place to monitor such operators."

Cllr Pat McCarthy raised this issue with the County Engineer some time
ago but no effective action was taken. He will now table a further motion on the subject for the next UDC meeting.

There are now up to three operators collecting domestic waste in single estates in Naas. Are they licensed or is this unregulated chaos what we can expect from the private sector when services are privatised.