Fingal County Council will ask the High Court tomorrow to imprison or fine "bin tax" protesters Mr Joe Higgins, TD and Cllr Clare Daly.
Mr James Mahon, SC, told Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill yesterday that Mr Higgins and Cllr Daly had been "intimately involved and actively participating in a blockade of collections in blatant disregard" of a week-old High Court injunction outlawing such activities.
When the council sought leave to serve short notice of attachment and committal proceedings, Mr Higgins stated that he was not in a position to cease the democratic campaign against waste collection charges or refrain from assisting in the campaign.
Cllr Daly said that, with no disrespect to the court, she wished to be associated with and adopt Mr Higgins's attitude.
Mr Justice O'Neill, when told they did not wish to give any undertaking to obey court injunctions restraining them from interfering with bin collections or the lawful passage of bin lorries, said he had no option but to grant the council's application for short service of the attachment and committal proceedings.
Mr Mahon, who appeared with Mr Damian Keaney for Fingal County Council, was granted an interlocutory injunction restraining Mr Higgins, Cllr Daly and 13 other named defendants from interfering with bin collections or the movement of bin lorries.
Referring to evidence of breaches of an interim order made last week by Mrs Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan, Mr James Macken, for the council, said it would not be appropriate for a local authority to seek orders and then stand idly by while they were flagrantly disregarded. He said the matter arose out of a decision of the council to lawfully impose a charge for the collection of domestic waste. It had also lawfully decided not to empty bins which did not bear a tag indicating that the collection charge had been paid.
He said that Mrs Justice Finlay Geoghegan had granted the council an injunction restraining both defendants and 13 others and anyone with knowledge of the making of the order from interfering with the council's bin collection service or blockading its bin lorries. Despite this, the protest had continued with some bin lorries being blockaded for days. There was a danger of explosions as the compacted rubbish in them gave off methane gas.
Mr Higgins, in an affidavit, said there was massive opposition to the bin charges and resentment at the council's direction that those engaged in a boycott of the charge should be denied a refuse collection service.
He said the council had alleged he and another councillor, Ms Ruth Coppinger, also a named defendant, had encouraged householders and residents to intimidate neighbours who had paid the charges and placed tags on their bins. "This is a scurrilous allegation and is entirely untrue," Mr Higgins said.
He also denied stating he would arrange for the collection and dumping of untagged waste on public open space and land owned by the council. He also denied allegations that he had intimidated officials of Fingal County Council.