After years of campaigning against the bin charges there is still very significant local opposition to this double tax. The City Council has appealed cases won by the anti bin tax campaign to the Supreme Court and we are still awaiting the date for hearing that case.
Meantime every Saturday morning Cllr. Brid Smith and Cllr. Joan Collins join local protesters outside Davitt Road depot to continue the protests against the bin tax. Anyone who is concerned with the reduction in the service and the soaring costs of bin charges should join the protests on Saturday mornings at 11am.
Click on the link below to see a video of local Bin TaxProtests.
Brown Bin Protest outside the Ballyfermot Civic Centre
Since 2001 Bríd has led a campaign against bin tax in the local area. Bin tax is a double tax that has been used to extract more money from working people who have already paid their fair share of taxes. We have seen this and other double taxes rise steadily each year.
Bríd says “After all the harassment, bullying, threats, debt collectors and even after the jailing of myself and 24 activists in the bin tax campaign, the cost of using the service is increasing each year. Private companies have now moved in to cherry pick the best aspects of waste management and our areas will suffer with job losses and cuts to services“.
The same story is being repeated in all services. Before Christmas people saw the anger of pensioners, parents, teachers and students burst onto the streets in massive protests. People are expected to pick up the tab for the debts and at the same time accept wage cuts, job losses and cuts in public services.
Look at the billions thrown at the Anglo Irish Bank and now after the biggest economic boom ever in this country working people are being hit the hardest to pay for the mess that has been made of the economy.
Bríd says “The issues that affect Ballyfermot are national issues too. We have to campaign on every front to defend what we have and to make sure that the bankers and the wasters who gained from the so-called Celtic Tiger pay up for their uncontrolled greed”.
The following stories appeared in The Ballyfermot Press, a student newspaper based at Ballyfermot College of Further Education as well as The Echo Newspaper about the protests on November 6th:
http://ballyer.net/2008/11/locals-rubbish-the-idea-of-paying-bin-charges/
http://www.echo.ie/ballyfermot/Ballyfermot-bin-charge-protest.4657555.jp
The campaign continues in 2009 with the introduction to the Brown Bins into the area. There continues to be weekly protests outside the Civic Centre in Ballyfermot on Fridays at 3.30 p.m., led by Bríd Smith. Residents not wanting their Brown Bins have been returning them here during these lively protests at the Civic Centre.
Brid Smith People Before Profit, protest organiser addressing the crowd at the Brown Bin Protests
