Fingal Blockades - latest news

by Legal Pigeon Fri Sep 12, 2003 17:06

Fingal Council have a temporary injunction against 15 named activists, including Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins and SP Councillors Ruth Coppinger and Clare Daly.

That injunction lasts until a full hearing on Wednesday.

The Gardai do not have the power to immediately arrest people for breaking the injunction. A court injunction is a civil rather than a criminal matter.

They have to go back to the judge, tell her that people are continuing to break the injunction and get a warrant from her. That could cause delays.

Then they will be able to arrest anyone in breach of the injunction and haul them up for contempt of court. They can then be jailed for as long as the judge likes (until they are said to have "purged their contempt").

Some additional things to watch out for:

a) The 15 named people are by far the most likely to be arrested but technically the injunction applies to anyone who has heard about it.

b) The 15 can probably be arrested after a warrant is issued just for being near a bin truck even if they are not causing an obstruction.

c) The injunction probably does not apply to people in the Corporation area. Dublin City Council will have to go get its own injunction.

d) Even so, be aware that the cops have the power to do any of us for almost anything under the Public Order Act. That applies to activists in the Corporation area as much as to activists in Fingal.

Any corrections to that outline are welcome.

Remember, be aware of the legal situation, but don't be intimidated. The Gardai have already shown their reluctance to come wading into residents protests in housing estates over this issue. We can and will stand up to them as Fingal protestors did in Hartstown on Wednesday when the one serious attempt to break a blockade was made.

by Andrew Fri Sep 12, 2003 17:42

Could you post some details of what happeend in Hartstown? Would be useful in informing activists locally about the sort of thing that might happen and how it can be dealt with

by What happened Fri Sep 12, 2003 17:58

The Gardai gradually assembled around the corner from the blockade in the Willows estate. When they felt they had enough people they came around the corner in a group of nine or ten and marched up to the front of the truck.

At that stage there were maybe 40 people present, mostly standing around in front of the truck which had been blockaded for hours. A few people were sitting together just in front of the truck.

When the Gardai started trying to move them with a bit of shoving and a lot of shouting, the sitting activists refused to move. The rest of the protesters quickly crowded over in support.

A megaphone was used to call more nearby residents over. The crowd grew quickly.

Simultaneously megaphoned announcements were aimed at the Gardai telling them that they were doing permanent damage to their reputation in the area. After a bit more shouting and some abuse aimed at local women by a female Garda, the police pulled back.

The key to facing down the cops was having a lot of local residents from the estate involved and having confidence.

Keeping in contact with other blockades meant that it was known that this was not part of a general Garda offensive ordered from on high.

by Kev Fri Sep 12, 2003 20:11

12th September 2003

The Campaign Against Non-Collection Continues in Fingal and Escalates in Dublin City

TODAY (FRIDAY) saw a significant intensification in the Campaign against the draconian policy of the non- collection of the tens of thousands of refuse bins of householders who are boycotting the bin tax.

Bin routes were met by protesting residents in up to six areas in Dublin city. These protests were in solidarity with residents in Fingal and as a warning to the City Council that non-collection in Dublin will be met by extensive community action.

In Fingal, residents continued an intensive campaign to oblige the local authority to collect all householders' bins. Residents fighting the bin tax have made it quite clear they will not be cowed by the use of injunctions against them by Fingal County Council.

Protest Lobby on High Court

The four Dublin Anti Bin Tax Campaigns are calling a major protest lobby at the Four Courts on Wednesday next, September 17th, at 10.00 AM in solidarity with the Anti Bin Tax Campaigners in Fingal who will be defending themselves against the injunction of Fingal County Council.

by Anthony Sat Sep 13, 2003 22:18

You've got to respect the courage of people refusing to move when the police start shoving and pushing.

Keep up the struggle.

by Tony Kelly Tue Sep 16, 2003 13:12

Why don't you guys just pay up like the rest of Ireland is doing. What is so special about people in Castleknock, Howth, Sutton etc that they should be exempt charges that the rest of us have been paying for years?

You were all very quite whan bin charges were introudced in Monaghan. It never seemed to bother you then.

As far as I know Howth is packed with richies that could buy their own bin trucks never mind pay a bin charge.

Lets wait and see how successful this campaign is going to be. It will fizzle out in a few weeks/months. You have no support.

Just pay your way like the rest of Ireland!

by Chekov Tue Sep 16, 2003 13:49

If you view the world from a bended knee, where our job is to do what we are told and be thankful for what we get, then your point of view might make sense.

On the other hand, I would turn your question around and ask you:

"Why don't you guys organise and stand up to the government and their international capitalist friends, like the Dublin working class people are doing. What is so special about people in Portlaoise, Sligo, Cork etc that they should be forced to pay charges that have no popular mandate and that large parts of the country have been resisting for years.

We were all very active whan bin charges were introduced in Monaghan. We were organizing our communities to resist them when they inevitably were introduced in Dublin. We saw what a disaster they were in other parts and acted with the knowledge that, like the water charges before them, if we could defeat them in Dublin we could give great heart to the people of Sligo, Cork and Monaghan and start to roll back their charges.

As far as I know the countryside is packed with illegal dumps because there are many people who simply can't afford to pay the charges.

Lets wait and see how successful this campaign is going to be. It will smash the charges in a few weeks. We have massive support.

Just don't pay like Dublin! Organise!