A group campaigning against refuse charges in Galway held a public demonstration in the city last night .
The Galway Bin Charges Campaign (GBCC) urged people who "can't pay, won't pay or don't agree with stealth charges" to join its supporters at City Hall.
The campaigners regard the domestic refuse charge as a stealth tax that penalises the poor.
They state that refuse collection is a service that householders have already paid for through general taxation.
City councillors have been asked to declare where they stand on the bin charges issue.
A GBCC spokeswoman said: "Around the country there are campaigns again incineration, super dumps and bin charges.
"It is the democratic right of the people to know the position their elected representatives are taking on the issue of stealth taxes."
The GBCC said that some 1,500 people in Galway had not paid their refuse charges and many more had been pressurised into paying a nominal amount because of demands where legal action was threatened.
"Thousands of residents are in arrears and are struggling to meet instalments for fear of their collection being withdrawn. Some have already had their bins confiscated, which jeopardises public health," she said.
She said that that only 3,000 residents in the city were in receipt of a waiver. Households on social welfare supplements, and widows and pensioners on a few euro above the waiver limit had to meet the charges in full.
There was no guarantee of a waiver scheme with private operators, the spokeswoman added
