No deal yet on City Council bin arrears payments

No deal has been reached on what will happen to the arrears of Galway City Council bin customers once the service is privatised.

It was confirmed last week that Galway City Council would hand over its domestic waste collection service to a private operator, Barna Waste, before the end of the year.

City Manager Brendan McGrath confirmed that the company – which is the largest waste and recycling operator in the West of Ireland – had emerged as the preferred bidder for the provision of the service. 

The contract is expected to be signed some time after Monday next, November 18, and the Council will communicate further with existing customers when the transition terms have been agreed.

Any arrears by existing customers and what will happen to those arrears has yet to be finalised and will be thrashed out in the course of negotiations.

Barna Waste could opt to take over the job of recouping that debt – by ‘buying it’ off the Council – or the debt could remain with the City Council, and they could pursue it themselves.

As part of the deal, a waiver will remain in place until January 2016 for less well off customers.

It is believed that four companies had been shortlisted as an alternative service provider in the wake of the local authority’s decision to withdraw from providing the collection service – along with Barna Waste, it is understood that City Bin, Greyhound and Walsh Waste were in the running.