With 90,000 Dublin households deprived of their bin collection service over the last two days because of protest pickets on council depots, a serious turning point has been reached in this dispute.
The protesters adopted these new tactics in pursuit of their demands that the bin charges be dropped, the jailed released and services restored to those who refuse to pay for them. They have now indicated they will not picket the depots again this week. This could give an opening to de-escalate the dispute, as was suggested yesterday by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. This confrontation is badly in need of such constructive mediation.
The protesters have minority support in most communities, but the great majority of households in Dublin and elsewhere are willing to pay bin charges. Most are convinced the 'polluter pays' principle on which they are based is justified in the much wider setting of the developing crisis over waste disposal in this State, dramatised by the vivid advertisements shown on television last night. It must be dealt with by political means within the law, not by illegal, disruptive tactics which could create a grave health problem on the streets of Dublin if rubbish collections are stopped for a prolonged period. That would be an intolerable and unacceptable violation of democratic principles and mandates.
The protesters say ordinary taxpayers are being penalised unfairly by such indirect taxes, which have disproportionate impact on the lower paid. There are fears that bin collection and waste disposal services will be privatised, leading to a loss of employment and higher charges. These are valid concerns; but they are best addressed in political campaigning at local and national levels, rather than by the tactics adopted in this protest. The local elections next year will give an excellent opportunity to test support for these objectives. In the meantime, the bin charges have been imposed by councils with a democratic mandate to do so, in accordance with legislation that has gone through the Oireachtas. Our democratic system is put squarely to the test in such a confrontation, and cannot be compromised by it. That is why the courts have jailed protesters who have refused to obey injunctions.
The confrontation will be made worse if it is played up by ideologues on either side who have more of an interest in intensifying than resolving it. The ICTU's suggestion that a real effort should be made to settle the dispute has much merit. It would allow agreements to be reached on bin collections, arrears of payments and commitments to pursue the protesters' objectives by non-disruptive means, which would make it easier to review the jail sentences imposed by the courts. But unless there is a willingness to scale down the confrontations there would be little point in this. Pressure from the majority who are prepared to pay bin charges and willing to explore effective ways of tacking the waste crisis will be necessary in all the communities involved.