The Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay campaign has turned on Fianna Fail and Fine Gael today over the debate on the household tax – and vowed to picket council offices this weekend.
The group said it believes that the refusal of the Donegal County Council to debate emergency motions in relation to the Household Tax this week shows that many councillors are running scared on the issue.
Micheàl Mac Giolla Easbuig of the steering committee of the campaign said: “Councillors from Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have been diving for cover this week. Very important matters were raised in emergency motions this week which affect every homeowner in the County and they simply refused to deal with it.
“The people of Donegal wanted to know what was the response of the elected members to the claims from Minister Hogan that teams of Council workers would be conscripted to harass, on their own doorsteps, the tens of thousands who were boycotting the Household Charge.
“Instead procedural rules were used by the mayor, with the backing of councillors from the main parties, to deny a debate. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael councillors did not want to make their views public because they are aware of the huge opposition to this hated tax. They are running scared on the Household Tax.
“Every one of these councillors knows that Donegal County Council does not have the resources to send Council employees all over the county knocking on thousands of doors. No provision has been made in the Council budget to pay for this. No arrangements are in place. It simply will not happen. Let the message go out that no council workers will be knocking on anyone’s doors to pay the Household Tax.
“This is another lie in Minister Hogan’s desperate attempt to rescue his new tax. Like the claims that they will take money out of your bank account, that they will add it to your ESB bill, that it will be deducted from your benefits or wages, it is all complete nonsense.
“Last weekend saw a magnificent demonstration of over 2,000 people in Letterkenny in defiance of the charge. At current rates over a million could refuse to register nationally. We are winning. Our campaign is calling on people to remain resolute, to refuse to be bullied, to continue to refuse to register.
“In response to the Council’s decision to open the Public Service Centres on Saturday to accept Household Tax payments we are calling on people to join protests outside the Centres. In Dungloe we will be picketing from 11AM and handing out leaflets. Other areas will be organising similar protests outside other centres around the county.”