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17th January 2003
Burke accuses Labour of complicity in bin charges introduction
Sinn Fein Councillor Christy Burke has called on Labour Party Councillors on Dublin City Council to withdraw from their alliance with Fianna Fáil that divides the Mayoralty between the two parties. He said Labours ineffective opposition to the bin charges makes them wholly complicit in their introduction. ``The Labour Party want the public to believe they opposed bin charges, when in fact they were complicit in their introduction. Only nine of Labour's thirteen councillors voted against bin charges. They cynically did this to protect their Mayoralty pact with Fianna Fáil,'' he said.
Cllr Burke said:
``Despite Labour party pledges and guarantees they utterly failed to oppose the bin charges at last nights council meeting. Of the thirteen Labour city councillors only nine of them actually voted against the estimates, which included the increased bin charge.
``Labour leader on the council Tommy Broughan has asserted Labours opposition and pledged that the party, as a whole, would not vote to support the bin charges. As it transpired the Labour Lord Mayor of Dublin, desperate to hold onto his position, voted to increase bin charges, while three of his colleagues did not even bother to turn up. This is typical of the hypocricy that epitomises the establishment parties.
``At best Labour's Dublin Councillors have shown themselves to be ineffective and incompetent, or more likely as hypocritical and dishonest politicians who were wholly complicit in the behind the scenes deal with Fianna Fail to ensure that their party could hold on to the Mayoralty and try and deflect the responsibility for retention of the bin charges.
``Either way it is obvious that Labour is unable to follow through on their promises, unable to provide any opposition on the issue of bin charges and should end their unholy pact with Fianna Fáil if they are to retain any modicum of credibilty.''
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