Ringsend Fights the Bin tax

dublin | bin tax / household tax / water tax | news report

Thursday February 02, 2006 15:10

by Ringsend Anti Bin Tax

A report on the Ringsend Anti Bin Tax campaign protest last Tuesday morning.

Protestors in Ringsend

In spite of the freezing cold over forty residents from the New Houses in Ringsend met at a street meeting organized by the Ringsend campaign against the bin Tax last Monday evening. Locals were angry that bins had been left behind uncollected by Dublin City Council the previous Tuesday. They were determined to resist the Council’s policy of non-collection. From Early on Tuesday morning, people met up at the entrance to the estate on Bremen Road opposite Clan Na Gael. Cups of tea were at the ready warming cold, cold hands mingling with the hustle and bustle of people joining the protest from night shifts school runs and those heading off to work.

The bin lorry which usually arrives at around 9.30 didn’t show up on time. Phone calls were made to other parts of Irishtown and Ringsend confirming that collections were delayed elsewhere. One protestor phoned up the council to find out what time the council would be down to collect the waste and was told 11.58 am, exactly.

People on the protest were eager to tell their own stories.

Elizabeth Faulkner told how her family had phoned up the council in order to pay their arrears and had offered to pay E20 a week but the council refused and said they wanted the full amount.

Betty O’Donovan said ‘ I’m on an invalid pension, I didn’t know about waivers. The council never came to my door and told me about them. They are just doing things over people’s heads. I worked for forty years and now they’re taking it away from me.’

Her neighbour Kay Hevey added ‘If you pay now they’ll do what they like. It’ll go to a private company and they’ll show no mercy’.

The bin lorry arrived well after 11o’clock, greeted with a big cheer from the residents, who always had a good relation with the binmen. The residents followed the bin truck around the estate holding placards, pushing buggies, laughing and joking . A number of bins were rejected by the computerised trucks and had an orange label attached. Protestors removed the plastic bags from those and threw them onto the back of the lorry. Excess bags were thrown in also. The situation was quite amicable. The Dublin City Council’s inspector for the area joined the bin lorry towards the end of it’s route. Shortly after Gardai from the local station in Irishtown turned up with a van. One garda was instructed to use the injunction. The injunction was read out but no names were taken as the waste collection had finshed.

Locals are determined to continue the protests in the New houses. This is the first bin tax protest in this part of Ringsend. Before there were 2 weekly pickts Tuesday mornings were held at Cambridge road opposite the tech and Fridays at the Dog Track on South Lotts. Each of these pickets were successful as all bins were collected. The new protest will be held again next week, on Tuesday morning at Bremen Road, opposite Clan na Gael

Clearing up the rubbish