The Dublin government pulled a `stroke' in Leinster House on Wednesday when they rushed through all stages of a special Bill in less than three hours to enable local authorities to continue and to retrospectively impose refuse and other charges on householders.

Fearing legal challenges to refuse charges imposed since 1997, the government published the the Local Government (Financial Provisions) Bill 2000 on Tuesday and rushed it though the Dáil on Wednesday. Opponents of the charges held a demonstration outside the Dáil. Participants included Sinn Féin TD Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin who addressed the crowd, Dublin City Councillor Larry O'Toole and South Dublin County Councillor Seán Crowe.

Maeve Healy of Drogheda Sinn Féin was among a delegation from that town, where a strong anti-charges campaign is ongoing.

Speaking on the Bill in the Dáil, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said:

``This Bill is a deplorable manoeuvre by the government. The government has failed to devise and implement a comprehensive waste management strategy. It has dumped responsibility for waste management onto local authorities without providing the necessary resources. The costs are being borne by householders who have to meet refuse charges and in many cases, the

spiralling demands of private sector service providers.

``These local authority charges are unnecessary and unjust. Those currently dependent on the private operators are equally deserving of a state-backed refuse collection and recycling service. I am strongly opposing this Bill.''

Ahern's double standard on wages

Bertie Ahern has been taking almost every public opportunity possible lately to attack workers who are looking for wage increases he deems to be outside the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness (PPF).

However, one or two examples of increases outside the terms of partnership agreements seem to have slipped the attention of the Dublin government leader.

Take the eight directors of Irish Life and Permanent. They took home a combined wage packet of £2 million in 1999. This was an increase of 12% on 1998 and far outside the terms of the Partnership 2000 agreement. The group's chief executive, David Went, got a 20% wage rise. The former chief executive of Irish Permanent and now chairperson designate of the newly merged Life and Permanent, Roy Douglas, got a 25% increase in the year, while group finance director Peter Fitzpatrick got an increase of 18% in his wages.

Maybe it is because these workers didn't have to threaten industrial action to get their wage increases that Bertie Ahern didn't criticise them. No industrial arbitration needed here; being the effective bosses the directors just awarded themselves the increases they thought they deserved. No matter what, there is an obvious double standard at work here.

Earth Day


April 22 is World Earth Day and more than 500 million people around the world will participate in events to highlight environmental destruction and global warming.

The organising body is called the Earth Day Network. Its worldwide affiliates are using grassroots and electronic networking to organise events, plan strategies, and share solutions that centre on the theme of Clean Energy Now!

If you want to see what events are being organised in your city or region, visit the Earth Day Network site at earthday.net