SF Motion on Bins ‘Out of Order’ says City Manager
dublin |
bin tax / household tax / water tax |
news report 
Tuesday June 14, 2005 11:20
by Indy Council Corr
Motion calling for refund of Charges not taken
A motion on behalf of the Sinn Féin Group on Dublin City Council demanding the immediate refund of bin charges paid by householders in 2001-2002, recently declared illegal by the High Court, was ruled out of order at a meeting of the Council last night.
A similar motion was also put by Independent councillor Joan Collins, however the Sinn Féin motion went further, demanding the Council outline the costs of both the refund and the money spent on legal fees so far.
Cllr Tony Smithers, who initiated the motion, said: “The Manager’s position is that the Sinn Féin motion was out of order because the Council intends to appeal the High Court decision to the Supreme Court. City Management seems set on digging us deeper and deeper into a hole.
“Our motion would have required the Council to immediately refund all households who paid their waste management charges for the years 2001-2002 and to delete the charges from the bills of households who have not paid their charges for the years 2001-2002."
Comments (17 of 17)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17The High Court actually upheld the bin tax
( Justice Quirke, January 2004).
The Circuit Court allowed two appeals from the District Court..
Sinn Féin criticise Joan Collins in the press release. I suspect that this is so that in the coming election Ó Snodaigh will be able to cut across Collins by saying Sinn Féin are more radical on bin tax! Sinn Féin have only supported the campaign as their election requires it. Sinn Féin are currently calling for payment of water charges in the North and have voted for bin tax in local authorities around the country (Sligo for example). An election will be called in the next 24 months, this is the main motivation of Sinn Fein in my opinion.
"Sinn Féin are currently calling for payment of water charges in the North and have voted for bin tax in local authorities around the country (Sligo for example)."
I'm no lover of the Shinners but it would be unfair to say that they have called for payment of water charges in the North. That said they are doing their best to stifle any grassroots organising and advocating a top down method of approaching the issue (ie. follow the SF line). Can you give another example other than Sligo so that your quote of authorities (plural) would be correct?
Sinn Féin President, Gerry Adams MP, wrote an article in the Irish News calling on people to pay water charges. He argued that non-payment was not a correct tactic! Instead people should vote for Sinn Féin. This is what he argued in an opinion piece in the Irish News. Sinn Féin are very hostile to calls for non-payment of water charges in the North.
Most of the comments here are wrong so I'll just go through them.
The press release does not attack Collins. It points out that her motion was not as comprehensive as the one from Sinn Féin and explains why. Joan Collins knows it wasn't and two Sinn Féin countersigned Joan Collins' motion in the interests of left unity on the issue.
Would that some of Joan's 'supporters' were as grown up.
The current issue of An Phoblacht carries a half page article outlining the case for mass non-payment of water charges as a method of defeating their imposition. Would An Phoblacht be carrying an article advocating mass non-payment if the party was so hostile?
The article was in there to stimulate debate on the issue. Personally I found the arguments advanced by Garry Mulcahy very well thought out and put.
A copy of the article is available here: http://www.anphoblacht.com/news/detail/9943
Some SP and SWP members might want to reflect on whether using their papers as forums for political debate and opening up the papers to views you might not necessarily agree with would be a positive thing. Or perhaps you prefer not to allow your members to see other points of view?
Not a great lover of the swappers but they have in recent times opened their paper to different view points. If I'm not mistaken recent contributors have included Joan Collins and Eoin O Broin.
I stand corrected if the Eoin O Broin article is true. With Joan Collins' contributions she's saying nothing different to what the SWP are saying and her articles appearing could have as much to do with the SWP trying to bring her on side as anything else.
You fail to metion that Gary Mulcahy is a member of the SP and to point out that the article is primarily a criticism of Gerry Adams for opposing non-payment. Clearly SF are feeling the heat in the communities for the position adopted by Adams. This article may be an attempt by SF to shift ground on the issue but I doubt it.
I look forward to the leadership coming out forcefully in support of non-payment of water charges in the North, but I will not be holding my breath
I also found the article entitled "Criminality, Collusion and Cover-up" very interesting. Much of what was said by Martin McGuinness could equally be applied to Sinn Fein in relation to the murder of Robert McCartney.
sinn fein councillors hid when the original vote on bin charges was introduced. fact. sinn fein councillors were willing to vote for increased bin charges if it prevented the council from falling. fact. individual sinn fein councillors have told residents to pay as " that campaign is going nowhere - (2003) ". fact.
the campaign against bin charges have continued to expose the city councils policy and to defend residents in court. anybody else who coat tails our successes, especially those who chose to dupe their supporters, are only shams.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but did Christy Burke and Larry O'Toole both miss a vote on the bin tax on the same night. One was at a funeral mass and the other was at a wedding, or were both at both?
So sf has an article by Gary Mulcahy sp member in their paper, so will the sp allow a sf member or member of any other party in theirs? justin stands justified!
If Sinn Fein submit an article to "The Socialist" it would certainly be considered and would probably be printed. I don't think they are likely to though.
Is it possible to get a letter published in The Socialist?
Possible yes, but the main problem is space. The Socialist Party publishes a 12 page paper once a month, which isn't really enough or even close to enough. Every month there are articles or pieces submitted 25 or 30 people and most months stuff has to be left out.
If the letter is long you would have a better chance of getting it published in Socialist View, I would guess, although that might mean waiting a while. If the letter is advertising a meeting or protest you might be better off just ringing up and asking for a small notice to be put in the paper.
The SP are as likely to publish a letter from Michael Gallagher as they would a John Throne letter. Are you not aware of the departure of Cde Gallagher and others from the SP prior to the 2004 elections?
I had no intention of writing a letter, I just thought maybe it would be helpful for information's sake and readership clarification to have this avenue open for all interested. Most other political party papers have a 'letters page'.
I don't see me leaving the party as having any relevance to this. I left the party for my own reasons. Don't ask!
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