Bin campaigners slam High Court Ruling, plan Appeal

dublin | bin tax / household tax / water tax | press release

Wednesday January 21, 2004 14:19

by pat c

Bin campaigners slam High Court Ruling, plan Appeal

Dublin Campaign Against the Bin Tax has strongly criticised today?s High
Court decision in a case brought by three Finglas residents regarding the
fairness and legality of the imposition of bin charges. The case centred
around the ?polluter pays? principle and challenged the legality of the
imposition of a set bin charge which did not take account of the volume
of waste produced.

The High Court ruled that, although the Waste Management Plan required the
polluter pays principle to be implemented, the City Council does not have
to provide specific incentives to encourage householders to recycle or reduce
waste. Costs were also awarded against the three residents taking the case.

Joe Mooney, Secretary of the Campaign said:
"This High Court decision makes a mockery of the polluter pays principle,
it makes the nonsensical claim that although a provision is included in
the Waste Management Plan the Council has no legal obligation to actually
implement what is stated in it?s own Plan. We have constantly argued that
the imposition of a set fee by City Council actually discourages recycling.
Now the High Court has ruled that this unfair set fee is lawful and gives
the green light to City Council to further harass law abiding householders
who oppose unjust double taxation."

Cieran Perry, an activist with the Cabra Campaign, said:
"All our advice was that we had a very strong legal case, but it comes as
no surprise that the High Court decision should back up the City Council
and the Government position in support of bin charges.

In a previous case the High Court actually ruled in favour of Fingal bin
protestors, stating that the Council was legally obligated to collect all
bins regardless of whether charges had been paid. In 2003 the Dail rushed
through the "Protection of the Environment Act 2003", which permitted councils
to refuse to collect bins of non-payers. After going to all this trouble
to legalise their illegal double tax, it was very unlikely that the High
Court today would embarrass the government by delivering a second blow to
plans for ever increasing stealth taxes.

The Dublin Campaign Against the Bin Tax will be taking legal advice concerning
an appeal to the Supreme Court against High Courts decision."

Dublin Campaign Against the Bin Tax

21st January 2003