Future of bin protests ‘hinges on jailed duo’s views’
Anti-bin charge protesters said the attitude of the two politicians to developments in the campaign since they were imprisoned four weeks ago would play an important part in decisions on future action.
The Dublin West TD and Mr Daly are due to hold a press conference outside Mountjoy Prison at 9am tomorrow to outline their views on the recent escalation of the campaign.
The two politicians were the first of more than a dozen protesters to be jailed for ignoring a High Court injunction preventing blockades on bin collections.
Although campaigners called off their pickets on council depots on Wednesday evening, they have not ruled out an escalation of the dispute in the future.
“The ball is very much in the court of the local authorities. If they continue with the non-collection of bins and jailing of protesters, we have displayed a clear ability to cause massive disruption and will do so again, if necessary,” said a spokesperson.
Anti-bin charge campaigners have also criticised the decision of RTÉ’s Late Late Show to conduct a single-handed interview with Environment Minister Martin Cullen on tonight’s programme.
Campaign spokeswoman Ruth Coppinger said Mr Cullen was being given “a platform on his own”, while her supporters were being gagged.
She criticised the planned format of the show, which will consign campaign representatives to the audience as “unfair and undemocratic”.
Meanwhile, the four local authorities in Dublin said they hoped to clear most of the backlog in refuse collections by the weekend.
Rubbish collections returned to normal yesterday around most parts of the city and county after council depots had been blockaded by protesters on Tuesday and Wednesday. However, there were reports of isolated incidents in some estates where bin collectors were briefly blocked by protesters.
In Neilstown, council workers claimed one bin lorry had to withdraw from an estate after it came under attack.
A spokesperson for South Dublin Co Council said a dispute with bin collection workers, who had been docked a day’s pay for refusing to pass pickets earlier this week, had been resolved.
