Housing Minister Simon Coveney has said he will consult the Attorney General’s office tonight on measures to protect householders from higher bin charges.

Mr Coveney is due to bring plans on the new pay-by-weight system to Cabinet tomorrow before the new charges are introduced on July 1.

The Minister is also due to speak with members of the waste industry tonight after meeting with them on Friday last.

Bin companies have warned some home owners their bills could double or treble under the new system, causing outcry.

Minister Coveney, who met bin company representatives last week, said he would like the reassurance for households that “no one is going to be ripped off here”.

“I want the assurance that no one is going to be asked to pay more next year than this year,” he said.

“We’re not simply going to ask the industry on a voluntary basis to do this. I want to be sure that what I ask for is actually followed through on.”

Speaking at South Dublin County Council offices ahead of a council meeting this afternoon he said that he therefore needed to take the advice of the Attorney General’s office this evening before announcing the details of planned measures tomorrow.

The Housing Minister (pictured) is suggesting that bin charges are capped for a year, during which homeowners are made aware of how to save on their bins.

“That’s why I have asked the industry to agree to a cap on charges so that we can reassure people that nobody would pay more next year than they would this year,” he said.

“If you ask people who are currently operating on a pay-by-weight system, and about 20% of households are, very few of them would change away from that now.”

Bin companies will not be able to charge customers more under the new pay-by-weight regime, if Minister Coveney is permitted to change the law.

A protest greeted the Minister as he arrived at South Dublin County Council this afternoon, with protesters calling for bin collections to pass back into public control and away from private bin collection companies.