Laois TD demands halt to Bord na Móna wheelie bin wing sell off

A Laois TD has called for the sale of a big wheelie bin service in Laois to be blocked by the Government.

Local independent TD Brian Stanley says that the proposed sale of Bord na Móna Recycling to a private company must be "halted".

"If the sale were to go ahead, it would mean the transfer of this large recycling and waste recovery business being going from public ownership and into the hands of an investor," he said in a statement issued to the Leinster Express / Laois Live.

Trade union Siptu says its members in Laois and other counties also want the sale blocked. They are ready to vote for industrial action over the deal. Bord na Móna insists that there will be no change to the terms and conditions but Dep Stanley does not share this view.

"This creates a whole new situation for both the local workforce and customers, of which I am one. So, while the workforce has been told that their current terms and conditions will be maintained, this cannot be guaranteed into the future under a new private company," he said.

He called for the Government to step and use its power and the sole shareholder in Bord na Móna to block the sale.

"I am making the case to the Minister for Energy and the Environment, Darragh O’Brien, that he should use his powers as a single shareholder on behalf of the public, to halt this sale and retain this key industry in public ownership and control,” he said.

Bord na Móna completed a €61 m purchase of waste management company Advanced Environmental Solutions (Ireland) in 2007. It was reported at the time that the acquisition of part of Bord na Móna's strategy of diversification into waste management and power generation.

KWD Recycling, a Kerry-based waste business, is the company lined up to buy Bord na Móna Recycling. The sale price was reported at €55 million. 

Although owned by the taxpayer, Bord na Móna says the terms and value of the sale are 'confidential'. However, it does acknowledge that the deal is subject to regulatory approval. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

Bord na Móna decided to rebrand its waste and recycling business as Bord na Móna Recycling in 2021 with trucks getting new livery as above. 

It said that the transaction followed a 'strategic review'which concluded that a sale would enable the business to achieve the scale and efficiency required for sustained growth, profitability and employment.

It said all employees will continue to work for the recycling business with no change to their contractual terms and conditions of employment on handover. 

It added that Bord na Móna Recycling will continue to provide services as usual for its household and business customers pending regulatory approval of the transaction.