Galway action saves bin charge waivers

SINN FÉIN activists turned up at Galway City Hall on Monday, 3 December, to protest at the proposed abolition of the bin charges waiver in Galway City.
Councillors were to discuss the Galway City budget for the upcoming year, including a proposal put forward by the City Manager to do away with the current waiver for the bins.
This would hit the most vulnerable people in the city, including those on pensions, the infirm on disability payments, single parents and unemployed households trying to sustain a living on social welfare payments.
Sinn Féin in Galway believes that this development signals the very first step in a long-term strategy to eventually privatise all refuse collection in the city.
The Galway Bin Charges Campaign Group initiated a silent protest in the council chamber itself and distributed literature. In the event, undoubtedly due to the public backlash, the proposal was rejected and the waiver remains intact.