The Minister, Deputy Coveney, met representatives of the bin companies in Athlone last month following the public outcry and concern about huge increases in waste charges as a result of the introduction of the pay-by-weight system. There was a collective sigh of relief nationwide when the Minister said after the meeting in Athlone that waste charges would be frozen for 12 months, that people's waste charges would not increase and that he would take action if waste companies did not comply. One of the companies in question, Greyhound, is now giving two fingers to the Minister by requiring people to opt out of the pay-by-weight system. In other words, if people do not contact the company, they automatically go under the pay-by-weight system, which means an increase in their charges. Greyhound is also insisting that its customers have to take out new 12-month contracts from 1 August and have to pay by that date.

I will give an example. I was recently contacted by an old age pensioner from my constituency who receives €198.60 per week. In December of last year, she renewed her yearly contract with Greyhound for the 12-month period from 1 January to 31 December 2016. The annual charge was €59.99, with additional pay-per-lift payments to be made. This woman received a letter from Greyhound asking her to contact it and informing her that the mandatory pay-by-weight system was gone. When she contacted the company, she was told she would have to pay €140 per year, with this payment to be received by 1 August next. This is going to be the case even though her current contract has not yet expired. She will have to make a full payment by 1 August, or alternatively pay in two instalments of €70 each. Another person in the same situation contacted me by e-mail and asked me to call for Government intervention regarding the so-called price freeze that has been brought in. She said that after she phoned Greyhound to ensure her service charge, which was prepaid until December 2016, and her charge per lift would not change, she was contacted to say that there would be changes in those charges. Like thousands of customers of Greyhound, I would like to know in light of what I have said whether action is being taken. What action, if any, is the Minister proposing to take to address the situation at Greyhound?

The Government believes the significant progress that has been made with recycling rates and diversion from landfill has been very positive for our environment and our communities. As the Deputy knows, the Minister has actively engaged with representatives of the waste industry with a view to agreeing a way forward that results in customers paying no more over the next 12 months than they are currently paying for waste. The approach that was agreed with industry involved a price freeze to the end of June 2017. The Minister has every intention of monitoring very closely the agreement that has been reached. He has said he will take action if there are breaches in this regard. He has been in contact with the company mentioned by Deputy Collins and he will be in further contact with it. He has made it clear that he will introduce legislation if necessary. If the agreement he reached with the waste companies is being broken - he will continue to monitor this very carefully - he will take action. I want to say clearly that situations like those described by Deputy Collins will be dealt with by the Minister as long as they are out of line with the agreement. He will take action with the particular company. He has already engaged with it on some of the issues raised by the Deputy. He has publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with a particular company regarding the manner in which it required customers to opt out of the pay-by-weight system, as opposed to being offered the opportunity to opt in.

The Deputy can be assured that the Minister is monitoring the situation carefully. He is engaged and will continue to engage on the matter. If the agreement is being broken and action is necessary, he will take action.

I thank the Tánaiste for her reply, but the point is that it is being broken. It has been broken for the last two weeks. The company has written to every customer telling them that they must contact the company about their renewed contract. The Minister should not be monitoring it for the next two weeks. This is 14 July and the company is saying that people must pay in advance by 1 August. What will the Minister do now to take this company to task and to maintain the price freeze which he said was in place? What choice does Eva have? She has been told that she must pay €140 by 1 August if she wishes to maintain her service with Greyhound. I ask the Minister to be a little more urgent on this. We are familiar with Greyhound. The company has a reputation of contempt for its workers, such as the lock-out of 2014. Now it appears to have the same contempt for its customers and for the Minister. I urge the Minister to come to the Dáil quickly to state that he will introduce the legislation necessary to deal with this issue.

The Minister is extremely alert to this issue. When he was discussing this in the Dáil on previous occasions he said that he had engaged with the industry and had come to an agreement with it. He said he would monitor it and act on any breaches of the agreement. He also said that if legislation was necessary, he would introduce it. The Deputy can raise the points she raised this morning when the Minister is taking questions or on other occasions, but I assure her that he is alert to this situation and is engaging individually with companies. If there is a breach, he will respond and deal with it. I will bring what the Deputy said today to his attention.

There is a breach and we need action.