Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow, John Brady, has said the decision by Panda Waste to introduce a new surcharge on bin collections is yet another blow to households already struggling with a deepening cost-of-living crisis.
Panda services over 300,000 companies and homes in Ireland, with the new surcharge set to amount to an annual increase of €12 plus VAT or roughly 97c per month for thousands of customers across Wicklow.
Deputy Brady highlighted that families and workers are being hit from all sides by rising prices, and warned that this latest increase in waste charges is an additional pressure on household budgets that are already stretched to breaking point.
Teachta Brady said:
“Once again, ordinary workers and families are being forced to pick up the bill as the cost-of-living crisis continues to deepen.
“Households across Wicklow are already struggling with soaring costs for food, electricity, heating, rent and mortgages, and now they are facing yet another increase in essential services.
“While Panda has pointed to rising fuel costs linked to geopolitical instability, the reality is that families cannot continue to absorb every increase in global costs.
“People are at breaking point.
“Every additional charge, no matter how small it may seem in isolation, adds to the cumulative pressure that families are under.
“Many families are being forced to make impossible choices just to get by.
“The Government cannot continue to stand by while the cost of essential services spiral further.
“There is a clear need for meaningful intervention that will ease the worsening burden facing families
“Families in Wicklow deserve a Government that will stand up for them and take real action to tackle the cost-of-living crisis.”
ENDS