Council to remove anti-household tax campaign posters

DUN Laoghaire Rathdown County Council has warned that
it will remove anti-household charge posters from poles and other public
places.

The council said it had not granted permission for the
erection of campaign posters in the area.

Cllr Richard Humphreys (Lab) noted that posters
advocating the non-payment of the charge have appeared around the county
recently.

The posters urge people not to register or pay the
controversial

?¬100 flat rate charge. Some read:

‘Resist Household Charge. Don’t
Register. Don’t Pay’.

Cllr Humphreys called on the council to take them
down.

“There is something ironic, if not ridiculous, about
the fact that the anti-household charge campaign is using poles paid for with
council money and maintained by the council in order to advocate non-payment of
lawful charges to fund essential local Government services,

? he said.

“I fully respect the entitlement of protesters to free
speech, but this does not extend to advocating the commission of offences. The
unfortunate reality is that anyone who is liable to the charge must pay.
Otherwise they are committing an offence.

?

However, Cllr Hugh Lewis (PBP), who is a member of the
campaign, said it was

“hypocritical

? of Cllr Humphreys to criticise those
campaigning against the tax as Labour Party councillors in Dun Laoghaire had
previously campaigned against the introduction of water charges.

“Most councillors in Dun Laoghaire made their
reputation on their opposition to the introduction of water charges and other
domestic charges,

? he claimed.

“The vast majority of people in Dun Laoghaire have not
paid and a vast majority of people around the country do not believe this is a
fair tax or a fair way to fund local government.

?

He added:

“If most people don’t register by March 31
they are going to have to push the deadline back or rethink the whole thing.

?

A spokesperson for Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County
Council said: “No permission was sought or given to erect those posters
and accordingly they will be removed by the litter wardens in due course.”

Over 1.6 million households are liable to pay the
household charge on or before March 31. Householders who fail to pay by the
deadline risk incurring fines.

According to the Department of the Environment, by
Tuesday February 28, almost 142,000 homes have signed up for the charge,
representing only a fraction of the 1.6 million liable for it.