Bin tax protests - Credibility of council undermined

THE Socialist Party agitators provided the nucleus for the demonstration blocking the collection of rubbish in the Fingal County Council area yesterday. They were adamant that either all bins would be collected, or none.

"Most, if not all, of the bin collections will not be allowed to proceed," warned Deputy Joe Higgins. Some dump trucks were collecting normally within the council area yesterday, but others were blocked and the dispute is likely to spread, unless the authorities demonstrate that they are determined to defend the rights of the majority.

The bin tax amounts to a new form of taxation. Since nobody likes to pay taxes, it is not difficult to win support for such protests, especially among people who feel disillusioned with the current Government, which cynically promised much that it never intended to deliver.

Some of the protesters have been very vocal about their democratic rights, but they are behaving as if they have a right to trample on the rights and freedoms of anybody and everybody who does not subscribe to their way of thinking. This is a recipe for anarchy.

A small minority of people may disrupt a democracy if they are allowed to behave outside the law. The gardaí took names and warned that those who obstructed the collection of bins yesterday could be prosecuted.

There was never free waste collection in this country. The people have always had to pay, but in the past they paid in different ways.

For many years that payment was part of the rates on dwelling houses, but those were abolished in 1977, along with motor taxation on private cars. Ever since then governments have been waging a campaign to reintroduce those taxes by stealth. People recognise that taxes, like death, will always be with us.

Bin taxes have been introduced in different forms throughout the country, but ironically they are probably lowest of all in the Fingal area.

Those people who are complaining that the bin tax involves a double form of taxation are ignoring the fact that people are entitled to 20% income tax relief on the amount they pay on the bin charges. Of course, that only applies to those who pay income tax, which probably excludes many of the professional agitators who seem to enjoy the luxury of being able to protest at their leisure at any time of the working day.

The Government and local authorities have been arguing that bin taxes underpin the principle that the polluter pays. The money should be directed towards recycling projects and other initiatives to update our treatment facilities, which are grossly out of date.

Some of the Fingal County Council areas have dual collections of general rubbish in grey bins, and recyclable rubbish in green bins.

The people in those areas pay €5 for the two bins.

The residences in those other parts of Fingal that do not have green bin collections, have to pay only €3 to have all their rubbish collected in grey bins. Even though the authorities contend that they are in favour of increased recycling, they are actually penalising those who separate their rubbish by charging them two-thirds extra.

This kind of crazy economic thinking, which would bankrupt any business, undermines the credibility of the council.