The Workers’ Party has described as shameful proposals by Cork City Manager Joe Gavin to impose bin charges on pensioners and others social welfare recipients.

Cork Workers’ Party spokesman Denis O’Connor said that the proposal was “beneath contempt” and would impose serious hardship on thousands of people who were already struggling.   It was he said, a particularly stingy decision in the light of huge pay increases for TDs and top civil servants, including the City Manager himself.  

Mr. O’Connor pointed out that the proposal could only be passed if a majority of the City Council supported it and in this respect the government parties are in a minority.  “This proposal should be voted down and those councillors who support it should be isolated and let the opposition parties on the council prove that they are an opposition”.

“The Workers’ Party opposes service charges as a matter of principle as they are a form of double taxation”, said Mr. O’Connor, “however we call on those parties who have in the past supported such charges to pull back from this stingy proposal and to ring-fence the waiver from future attacks”.