Sir, - Throughout the summer, opposition to rubbish bin charges has been growing steadily throughout Dublin. This is reflected in the fact that large numbers of householders have ignored the bin charge bills sent out by Dublin Corporation.
This should come as no surprise. The majority of city councillors are actually opposed to the charges. They were passed reluctantly by the council when the Minister for the Environment threatened to abolish the council unless the City Manager's estimates were accepted. The campaign against bin charges is about local democracy.
It is also about a proper recycling programme. Dublin Corporation justifies the charges on the basis of the need to reduce waste, but the fact is that in large sections of the city there are no recycling facilities. Residents in non-wheelie-bin areas are paying £65 a year with no provision for recycling. Charges have nothing to do with recycling or reducing waste. Facilities do. But the Corporation has singularly failed in this regard.
At no point were Dubliners consulted either on the charges or the new waste collection system. The chaos which accompanied its implementation was largely due to this lack of consultation. In some areas wheelie bins were delivered, only to be withdrawn the following week, to be replaced by a communal bin system which again had to be withdrawn. Public confusion was exacerbated by blatantly misleading advertisements issued by the Corporation.
Given the undemocratic nature of the vote last January, carried out under threat of the council being prorogued, Dublin residents do not have a democratic responsibility to pay these charges. The City Council will have an opportunity to debate the rubbish charges again - this time without the threat of abolition and before the presentation of the city estimates.
Residents may wish to lobby their local councillors to ensure they vote against the continuation of these charges. - Yours, etc.
Cllr Eric Byrne, Deputy Lord Mayor, City Hall, Dublin 2.