Anti-bin tax campaigners intensify protest

Anti-bin tax protesters intensified their protest by blocking all seven waste-collection depots in the four Local Authority areas…

Anti-bin tax protesters intensified their protest by blocking all seven waste-collection depots in the four Local Authority areas of Dublin from 7 a.m. today.

Anti Bin Tax Protesters at the GPO
Among the protesters at the G.P.O. in Dublin this lunchtime were Mr Myles Kelly, Mr Fran Laycock and Mr Chris Noone.

According to a spokesman for the Fingal Anti Bin Tax Campaign, the action was in protest at the jailing of 15 anti-waste charge protesters.

Three women - Ms Christine Heffernan, Ms Brid Smith and Ms Karen Heffernan - were the latest to be jailed yesterday for defying a court order not to disrupt the collection of bins by Dublin City Council.

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Dublin City council workers are outraged by the bullying tactics of the council and by the news that their colleagues in Ballymount have been removed from the payroll for refusing to cross the anti bin tax pickets.
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Mr Peadar O'Grady of the Dublin Anti Bin Tax Campaign

Bin men at the Ballymount Depot in South Dublin have been taken off the payroll for refusing to pass the blockade this morning.

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Workers in Collins Avenue have also come out to join the pickets after a leading member of the East Wall Campaign, Mr Joe Mooney, was hospitalised when he was struck by a car while on the picket.

"Dublin City council workers are outraged by the bullying tactics of the council and by the news that their colleagues in Ballymount have been removed from the payroll for refusing to cross the anti bin tax pickets," Mr Peadar O'Grady of the Dublin Anti Bin Tax Campaign said.

"Today's developments show that the fight against the bin tax is growing and uniting both the local communities and bin workers," Mr O'Grady added.

However, according to a spokesperson for Fingal County Council, as of last Friday 99 per cent of bins in the Fingal area are now being collected, with only 800 homes in North Mulhuddart without a collection.

Around 50 protestors also attended a rally at the G.P.O. on O'Connell Street this afternoon where they encouraged members of the public to join the campaign.

Luke Cassidy

Luke Cassidy

Luke Cassidy is Digital Production Editor of The Irish Times