Waste collection companies are meeting today to consider a compromise proposal on a new series of bin charges.

Housing minister Simon Coveney wants the companies to give customers the right to stick with the old system of charges, if it is cheaper for them.

But he's also taking legal advice to see whether it's legally permissible to cap the controversial charges entirely.

The new pay-by-weight system is due to come into effect on July 1st, but waste companies claim they've been forced to increased the price as a result.

Based on their current usage, some customers could see their annual waste bills triple as a result of the new charges being introduced by some companies.

The waste companies meet today to consider Coveney's proposed compromise, before then meeting again with the minister either today or tomorrow. A revised package of charges may then be brought to cabinet tomorrow for agreement.

However time is not on the government's side - the AAA-PBP is tabling a Dáil motion tomorrow afternoon which, if passed in a Thursday vote, would turn the minimum charges into maximum charges.

A separate bid from Sinn Fein on Wednesday, meanwhile, could see the Seanad rescind the new system of bin charges entirely.

Our political correspondent Gavan Reilly filed this report for Today FM's National Lunchtime News: