The Housing Minister is being urged to reject proposals by waste firms to increase bin charges.

Sinn Féin Vice President Mary Lou McDonald is calling on Minister Simon Coveney to scrap the regulations and go back to the drawing board.

She described the charges as "outrageous" and said the firms are fleecing hard pressed families.

She said: "Clearly Statutory Instrument 24 was badly written and should never have been signed into law. Minister Coveney must not repeat the mistake of his predecessor. He should reject the temporary freeze on bin charges proposed by the waste collection industry last Friday. The reason he should do this is because it does not address the root cause of the problem, namely Statutory Instrument 24.

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"What the Minister should do is immediately scrap the existing regulation. He can do this at the stroke of a pen by introducing a new Statutory Instrument. He should then go back to the drawing board to rethink his Government's approach to this issue. In doing so he must ensure that any new regulations do not allow hard pressed families to be fleeced by unscrupulous waste companies.

"If the Minister does not scrap the regulations Sinn Féin will push this matter to a vote in the Seanad on Wednesday."

(CD/MH)