Attack on the poor by Galway City Council is stoppered and kyboshed in the pipeline

galway | rights, freedoms and repression | press release

Tuesday December 04, 2007 20:18

by TJ - Galway Bin Charges Campaign

"Attacking the poor ... is not the way to make-up for shortfalls in the city budget"

Yesterday evening, the Galway Bin Charges Campaign comprising outraged members of the public, activists from the SWP, SP, Sinn Fein and Galway Alliance Against War vented their anger outside and inside Galway City Council buildings against a proposal that, if adopted, would amount to a front frontal assault on the city's poor, thankfully, conscience prevailed, as such, GBCC wholeheartedly applaudes the city councillors for successfully defending the full waiver on refuse charges at the Budget 2008 meeting on Monday night.

Dette Mc Loughlin (SWP), spearhead of the campaign group said it was admirable, decent and right that councillors across party divides stood firmly against the proposed attack on the waiver system.

Solidarity from Labour Councillor; Collette Connolly (in orange scarf)

“Our elected representatives realise that it is our duty as a society to provide and protect such essential public services for the needy, even if the city manager and officials at City Hall do not,” she added.

As the budget meeting commenced. Over 20 people marched into the council chamber and held a silent protest by holding placards reading DON’T ATTACK THE POOR…

Said Dette, “The campaign group left the chamber when asked to by the mayor, but we believe that we made our point clearly to all the council members, plus the city management team.”

The City Manager had put forward a policy to get rid of the waiver for the bin lifts, keeping only the waiver for the fixed charged. This regressive step would have targeted the poorest in Galway society: the aged on pensions, the infirm on disability payments, lone parents and unemployed households trying to survive on social welfare payments. The decision to apply a waiver only to the standard fixed charge would have been a step towards the abolition of the waiver altogether.

"Galway Bin Charges Campaign" was initially formed as a broad campaign that together fought against the introduction of the refuse stealth tax, increases in refuse service charges and the pay-by-weight scheme.

Dette summed up "It is important that the council officials know where the people of Galway stand on such issues. Thanks to those people that turned up at the protest, and to all the citizens that contacted City Hall to make protestations about the proposal. Attacking the poor, the same people that were hardest hit over the water scandal, is not the way to make-up for shortfalls in the city budget. The city officials should instead be attacking the government for introducing stealth taxes, and its underfunding of city budgets” she said.

This Angolan woman gave a full and fair ear to these Sinn Fein activists