Bin charges case, Set for High Court
Bin charges were introduced by Dublin City Council at the start of last year. However, 25% of households have still not paid for the service.
Anti bin charges campaigners gathered outside Dublin District Court today in support of three men in court for their refusal to pay for waste collection.
The men - Sam Wright, Derek Russell and Dave Tyson - are all from Finglas. Since the charges were introduced in January of last year they have not paid the €120 per annum charge for their bins.
Dublin City Council was in court today to get a decree obliging the men to pay up.
However, counsel for the defence made a number of submissions in court. Chief amongst them was the contention that the charges do not comply with the polluter pays principle under European Law.
The defence also argued that the City Council does not offer any incentive to house-owners to recycle as the same charge applies regardless of the amount of rubbish generated by each house.
Judge William Early said that this amplifies the polluter pays principle to an unacceptable degree, but he agreed to allow counsel for the three men seek a High Court hearing for their case.
