The view from Noel O'Brien's house in Drumheath Avenue in Ladyswell isn't pretty. There are piles of smouldering rubbish on the green opposite. The bins haven't been collected for three weeks.
People are dumping their waste on grassy areas and then burning it. There are piles of waste all over the place. Milk and orange juice cartons. Beer bottles. Baked bean cans. Dog food tins. Toothpaste tubes. Weetabix boxes.
Ladyswell in Mulhuddart, Co Dublin, is a mess. "The rubbish is an eyesore and a health hazard but I don't blame local people. They have to get rid of their waste somehow. I blame the council and the Government," says Mr O'Brien. "Even bins with tags weren't being collected so nobody around here buys tags anymore. This area is 100 per cent anti-bin tax. The Government are a joke. They're robbing the country of millions. I pay tax on my wages. I shouldn't be taxed again. It's legalised robbery."
He condemns the jailing of Socialist Party TD, Mr Joe Higgins and county councillor Ms Clare Daly - "everybody thinks it's a disgrace". He says the anti-bin tax protest is more popular in working-class communities than is being portrayed by the media.
A single parent, Mr O'Brien doesn't let his two children play on the green anymore because of the health risk from the rubbish. He takes his own waste to the Coolock home of his father, a pensioner, to be collected.
There's a pile of rubbish a few yards from Nora O'Toole's house on the Ladyswell Road. "This bin tax thing is driving me nuts," she says. "Local children are going round doors collecting rubbish to be burned. The fire brigade has been out to try to stop it. I'm sure they have better things to do. Fires are always dangerous. Some of the kids could easily get hurt."
Ms O'Toole, a mother of four, says her bin hasn't been collected for three weeks. "I had a tag on it but that didn't make any difference. I don't know why. I bought the tag because I didn't want any hassle and my husband and I are out at work when the bins are collected. We wouldn't be around to protest and I won't have other people fighting my battles for me. But I'm completely against the tax."
Ms O'Toole, who voted Fianna Fáil at the last election, said she would never support the party again. "I admire Joe Higgins and Clare Daly. They've taken a principled stand. I'll vote for the Socialist Party at the next election. But Mr Dominic Rothwell, a Shanty pub customer, supports the bin tax. "It's very fair. I don't think €5 is too much. It's no dearer than a pint of Guinness," he says.