A DUP councillor has said he has received calls from Donegal residents complaining about Derry and Strabane council’s closure of its free waste recycling centres.
Derry councillor Maurice Devenney said he has received a number of "aggressive" calls from Donegal residents who were angry that they could not avail of the service north of the border. Mr Devenney said that while waste disposal was free north of the border, in Donegal there was a charge for weekly bin collections.
Mr Devenney, who is himself a native of Donegal, was speaking at a special meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council called to discuss the coronavirus and its impact on council business and finances.
He said the use of free recycling centres by Donegal people has been an issue for a long time as, he said, it has an impact on the costs to Derry and Strabane rate payers. He said it was wrong for ratepayers to be asked to pay more because residents from over the border were availing of the northern facilities.
“I have to say Madam Mayor, I have got a few aggressive phone calls from residents in Donegal who have criticised us as a council for closing our recycling centres here, very, very aggressive that they should be opened immediately,” Mr Devenney said.
The Derry DUP representative said he explained to them that they were availing of a free service established for northern rate payers.
He suggested that when recycling centres re-opened, if a Donegal-registered car turned up staff should also to see a driving licence indicating the driver lived in Northern Ireland. If the driver could not do that, they should present a recent utility bill showing they lived in the north, he said.
