Green Party Senator and European candidate for Dublin, Deirdre De Burca, has urged Dublin City Council not to charge Dublin restaurants for monitoring drainage.

The Council has ordered that all Dublin food outlets including pubs, restaurants and hotels pay hundreds of thousands of euro in annual costs to maintain the city’s drains.

In 2008 the council introduced a three-year programme under which all food service establishments would be required to install grease traps at their premises, as well as to pay a fats, oils and grease licence fee.

The Council now wants businesses to pay an annual monitoring charge which could amount to as much as €1,370 per business. The monitoring charges will be in place for a three-year period, after which they could be reviewed.

Senator De Burca said, “I appreciate the work carried out by Dublin City Council in maintaining the upkeep of local Dublin premises. However in this tough economic climate many businesses simply cannot afford to pay these new fees.

“Restaurants and food-based businesses already pay the Council commercial rates, water charges and waste charges. They also pay a specific fee for the disposal of grease and fats.

“I worry that this new charge may be enough to put small Dublin companies out of business. I will contact the Council immediately to voice my concerns,” added Senator De Burca.

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Dublin by Deirdre