A second Dublin local authority is to cease collecting refuse from householders who have not paid their bin charges from today.Dublin City Council is following the example of Fingal County Council in ordering its bin lorries to bypass any homes that have been black-listed for defaulting.
In an effort to avoid protests similar to those witnessed in the neighbouring local authority area last week, the city council is implementing non-collection on a phased basis, concentrating initially on households in Dublin 4, 6 and 6W. The local authority has deliberately chosen the most affluent areas in which to start as it believes they will be more compliant under the new regime.
The Dublin City Anti-Bin Tax Campaign is to hold a demonstration against the move this morning outside the local authority's refuse depot in Rathmines.
Campaign treasurer Mr Diarmud Naessens said that, "if there is non-collection in any area, there will be a response" similar to that seen in Fingal last week.
Under the city council initiative, an inspector or supervisor will accompany refuse collectors on their rounds, identifying houses for non-collection en route. The council claims that only 20 per cent of households have not paid the annual charge of €154 for a large wheelie bin or €90 for small one.
It says about 60 per cent of householders in the area have paid the charge with the remainder qualifying for a waiver scheme.
The initiative follows the enactment of legislation allowing local authorities to refuse to collect waste where there are outstanding charges.
Fingal County Council became the first local authority to adopt the policy last week in a move that prompted street protests in west and north Dublin.
Other local authorities are planning to follow suit with Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council saying it would "shortly" commence a programme of discontinuing the service to defaulters.
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown said that, once the service had been withdrawn, it would only be restored on payment of all the arrears together with a charge of €50 to cover the costs of discontinuing and restoring the service.
It said: "Householders will also be open to legal proceedings, and associated costs, for recovery of this debt."
The city council's charge was defended yesterday by Dublin city manager Mr John Fitzgerald, who said it generated €15 million in revenue a year, which paid for 350 full-time employees.
"We are not charging for collections of bins. We are charging for the management of what's in the bins," he said.
