Wexford SF oppose privatisation of waste collection

Sinn Fein Cllr Anthony Kelly and Cllr Johnny Mythen reiterated their party opposition to any plans by Wexford County Council to privatise the refuse collection service, and instead called on the government to honour their pre-election promises to reform the taxation system, allowing new wealth collected to fund vital public services.

Following the privatisation of waste collection services in South Dublin and Dun Laoghaire/ Rathdown, it now seems that it’s only a matter of time before efforts are made to change things in County Wexford,” Cllr Kelly said.  “Wexford Sinn Féin fully supports the Council refuse workers and urges that these employees be redeployed to other jobs within the Council.  I’m very concerned that these workers will be made redundant and sent to join the other twenty thousand unemployed people in this county on the Dole Queue. 

Cllr Johnny Mythen added;

“We hear a lot of talk that privatisation leads to price cuts and that the takeover of this public service by private companies will ultimately benefit ordinary people.  The truth is, that in the past we have witnessed such “price cuts” quickly be forgotten as private companies carved out monopolies for themselves, allowing rapid price escalations.  Historically, privatisation has been shown to hurt the poor and less well off the worst.  Vital services should be available to all and paid for with a fair and progressive tax system based on ability to pay.”