The High Court has today granted an injunction obliging Fingal County Council to collect all household refuse bins from Monday, whether a charge tag was attached or not.
Fingal County Council had sent a letter to all households in the area warning it would leave any bin without a charge tag unemptied on the footpath. They did this despite a Supreme Court ruling last November, in which the court said that Cork Corporation had to collect refuse even if householders had not paid their charges.
In that case, Mr Justice Geoghegan also declared that if householders chose not to make the required payment, the corporation had ordinary debt collection remedies.
Today, Mr Justice Peter Kelly granted the injunction - the first of its kind in Dublin - earlier this morning to two Fingal Councillors, Ms Clare Daly and Mr Joe Higgins TD. He also granted them leave for a judicial review, which will be held on Tuesday, March 12th.
Senator Joe Costello of the Labour Party said that the Dublin City Manager had informed him that 84 per cent of households in Dublin North Central had not paid their refuse charges. Dublin Corporation still collects refuse.
Mr Higgins told ireland.comhe will be seeking to have the injunction continued next week before the judicial review is held.
Fingal County Council is charging €5 a tag, which Mr Higgins said would cost the average family €260 a year for refuse collection.