Wexford Sinn Féin Press Officer, David Forde has said that mounting public resistance to Bin Charges is completely justified and has slammed the members of Wexford Borough Council, who he said, "sidestepped the real issue at last weeks council meeting by discussing the wording of demand letters, instead of honestly examining these unfair charges."
Speaking in Wexford on Saturday David Forde said:
"The Bin Tax is fundamentally unjust and this issue has not been honestly debated by the members of Wexford Borough Council who are determined to penalise householders with this unfair double taxation.
"Polluters should certainly pay for the cost of their waste. But when it comes to local charges there is a major problem - we've already paid! We have paid through the vast range of all our direct and indirect taxation. The fact that this revenue is not adequately passed back to local councils is not our fault. It is the responsibility of central government.
"There is of course another problem with passing the cost of waste back to us - we're not the polluters. Household waste accounts for less than 10% of all waste. If we are going to follow the 'polluter pays' principle, then ordinary householders are the last who should face these charges.
"There is no element of honesty, equality or choice to these charges. They are a blanket charge on all households. Those who recycle, those who live alone and those who produce less waste, receive no allowance, all are expected to pay the same.
"The bin charges are not a charge for the actual service, they are a tax. Bin charges are double taxation and this is an unavoidable truth. The elected members of the Borough Council show disrespect to the people of Wexford by being dishonest about these charges.
"Sinn Féin is the only party on Wexford Borough Council to oppose these unjust charges. All of the other parties colluded in passing the estimates. They will offer the excuse that if they hadn't approved the charges then Minister Cullen would have waved his big stick and imposed them anyway.
"But this is an unprincipled position and shows no respect for local democracy. The people of Wexford are entitled to ask who really runs this town; their elected representatives or the unelected bureaucrats in the Department of the Environment and the Borough Council offices?
"The public are right to resist the bin tax. As was proven by the successful campaign against the water charges, which were abolished in 1996, if nobody pays, they will be impossible to collect. The key tactic which guaranteed success in the anti-water charge campaign was the refusal to pay and households in Wexford are justified in making a stand on this issue.
"Sinn Féin has maintained a record of opposition to the Bin Taxes in Wexford that is above reproach and will continue to oppose them and to demand an amnesty for those who have refused to pay."
