Bin campaigners slam High Court Ruling, plan Appeal

dublin | bin tax / household tax / water tax | press release

Wednesday January 21, 2004 14:19

by pat c

Bin campaigners slam High Court Ruling, plan Appeal

Dublin Campaign Against the Bin Tax has strongly criticised today?s High
Court decision in a case brought by three Finglas residents regarding the
fairness and legality of the imposition of bin charges. The case centred
around the ?polluter pays? principle and challenged the legality of the
imposition of a set bin charge which did not take account of the volume
of waste produced.

The High Court ruled that, although the Waste Management Plan required the
polluter pays principle to be implemented, the City Council does not have
to provide specific incentives to encourage householders to recycle or reduce
waste. Costs were also awarded against the three residents taking the case.

Joe Mooney, Secretary of the Campaign said:
"This High Court decision makes a mockery of the polluter pays principle,
it makes the nonsensical claim that although a provision is included in
the Waste Management Plan the Council has no legal obligation to actually
implement what is stated in it?s own Plan. We have constantly argued that
the imposition of a set fee by City Council actually discourages recycling.
Now the High Court has ruled that this unfair set fee is lawful and gives
the green light to City Council to further harass law abiding householders
who oppose unjust double taxation."

Cieran Perry, an activist with the Cabra Campaign, said:
"All our advice was that we had a very strong legal case, but it comes as
no surprise that the High Court decision should back up the City Council
and the Government position in support of bin charges.

In a previous case the High Court actually ruled in favour of Fingal bin
protestors, stating that the Council was legally obligated to collect all
bins regardless of whether charges had been paid. In 2003 the Dail rushed
through the "Protection of the Environment Act 2003", which permitted councils
to refuse to collect bins of non-payers. After going to all this trouble
to legalise their illegal double tax, it was very unlikely that the High
Court today would embarrass the government by delivering a second blow to
plans for ever increasing stealth taxes.

The Dublin Campaign Against the Bin Tax will be taking legal advice concerning
an appeal to the Supreme Court against High Courts decision."

Dublin Campaign Against the Bin Tax

21st January 2003

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Comments (8 of 8)

Who Pays?

by Dusty Bin

Wed Jan 21, 2004 16:19

Will the Anti-Waste Charge campaign be dipping into its " war chest " to bail out the poor souls who were marched to the District Court in September 2002 and who insisted on stating a case to the High Court. On the subject of the High Court, the campaigners were delighted when the Court rightly ruled that all waste in Fingal, whether tagged or not, should be collected. One must presume that in stating the case to the High Court that they would have been equally delighted if the Court had found in their favour. But once the decision went against them, the High Court is the bad guy. Spokespersons from the campaign have no difficulty in slying impugning the integrity of the High Court when the Court decides on matters of fact and law (read the judgement). It is this selective, a la carte, approach to democracy that is pitiful. By the way, any chance of a receipt for my contribution at " mass meetings " to the war chest? How much has been collected? Who mananges the account? What is it spent on? How much is left?

dusty

Wed Jan 21, 2004 16:47

who pays you? FF or one of the councils? or are you a sick saddo who does this kind of trolling to get your kicks?

A waste of money

by john mc dermott - Remove Fianna Fail Party

Wed Jan 21, 2004 20:53

ashtown,dublin

This business of using rubbish collection as a "smokescreen" for more stealth taxation cannot be challenged in any court.If Bertie brought in a flat fee for farting for every flatulent figure in the land ,be he prince or pauper,there is not much you can do about it -is there?anyway he will just change the law,or the tax,and levy it elswhere..when the Mafia(Fianna Fail)make the laws...you will not win their game in any courtroom. because they write out all the rules themselves!

Why John?

by Confused

Thu Jan 22, 2004 10:36

Why John if the Courts are such a waste of time and run by FF et al are you lot so eager to run to them time after time? Bad teams usually blame the referee.

RSF News - Bin Tag system criticised as insensitive

by Tom Luby - Republican SinnFéin

Thu Jan 22, 2004 11:32

RSF News - Bin Tag system criticised as insensitive

The introduction of a new bin tagging system in the south Dublin area has
been criticised as insensitive by the Tallaght branch of Republican SinnFéin today.

Residents received letters with their tags in the post this morning. Those
who are required to pay this double taxation received a yellow tag whilst
those in receipt of social welfare payments or on low income and who are
exempt from paying have received a large blue tag. This is in effect making
the private business of residents public by forcing those who are exempt
from paying to identify themselves to the council and in turn their neighbours
and friends.

This is totally insensitive to those who do not wish to make their financial
situation publicly known. We are now calling on the South Dublin County
Council to stop this practice as an interim measure until the bin tax is
finally scrapped. We would also call on residents to continue their non
payment protest until it reaches its successful conclusion.

Wolfe Tone Cumann
Tallaght

You got it in one

by Class analysis man

Thu Jan 22, 2004 15:47

We will fight them in the estates
We will fight them in the council chambers
We will fight them in the courts.

Seriously though we have every right to be satisfied on the rare occasion a judge comes down on the side of the campaign's arguements in the courts.

We are similarly right to be dissatisfied with decisions that go against the campaign and disregard them if we can!

That's the class struggle. It's a subjective kind a thing. Dusty Bin may think it's an inconsistant approach but it ain't. It's consistant from the point of view of defending the interests of working class people!

"crystal nocht "in Ireland?Are Berties "Soldiers of Destiny" buying new jackboots?

Thu Jan 22, 2004 22:20

jmcd33 at eircom dot net

Ashtown,dublin

As is common knowledge,the Nazis began their discrimination campaign against german jews,by legislating for obligatory identification of jews,They were by law obliged to wear the Star of David emblem on their clothing.If the councils have this system on peoples rubbish bins,to identify their socio/economic standing in the community surely it is a gross invasion of privacy and will not stand a courtroom challenge ,even in Bertie,s courtroom.?This type of public discrimination must surely be against some kind of european norms/laws.Perhaps the campaign committee could investigatewhat our European Laws think of it?

Why the other parties ie fine gael labour, sinn fein did not vote agaist this unfair tax on workers

by confused

Fri Sep 01, 2006 21:37

why did the other parties abstain from voting when this unjust tax was being put up for vote in the concil chambers by abstaining they let the people who are already paying for thier childrens free education, paying private companies for health cover because thier children will be left wating forever and a day to for treatment for which they have already paid thier taxes towards. one more question when the council bring out water charges for every householder which will happen when they have finished fitting water meters will the same parties abstain again

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Bin campaigners slam High Court Ruling, plan Appeal

Comments (8 of 8)