The leader of the Socialist Party, Mr Joe Higgins TD, has called on Dublin residents to start a campaign of civil disobedience against changes to the bin charges regime.
Accusing the Government of ramming legislation through the Dáil to enable city and county managers to set bin charges with reference to local politicians, Mr Higgins said the inevitable result of such a law would be the creation of a new stream of taxation.
Representatives of the anti-bin charges campaign said at a briefing yesterday that tens of thousands of householders were refusing to pay the charges.
With the Protection of the Environment Bill giving council managers the right to leave uncollected the bins of those who fail to pay the charge, Mr Higgins said residents should protest against any attempt by local councils to do this.
Mr Higgins said: "Democratic people-power at local level will be employed to mobilise openly in opposition to the threat of non-collection.
"Council refuse trucks will be delayed in housing estates until all bins are collected as at present." When asked whether such action would amount to intimidation, he said: "There'll be absolutely no intimidation."
He said the campaign would liaise with the trade unions that represent bin collectors in advance of such protests.
Mr Higgins added: "The Government's agenda is clear. It wishes to break the anti-bin tax campaign in Dublin. If that were to happen, the refuse charges would rise dramatically. There would then be a move to reintroduce water charges."
Mr Higgins was joined at a press conference yesterday by the Independent TDs, Mr Tony Gregory and Mr Finian McGrath, who said they supported the campaign.
Mr Gregory said the Government had introduced the legislation as a response to the strength of the anti-bin charge campaign.
He said the passing of the legislation before the recess was designed to remove the bin-charges issue from the political agenda before the local elections next year.
A spokesman for the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, dismissed the protest. "This is an anti-community stance by the Socialist Party. We don't believe it is fair that neighbour should subsidise neighbour by paying for waste," he said.
