Members of Dublin City Council will attempt this evening to agree on a budget for next year of face being dissolved by the Minister for the Environment and replaced by a commissioner to enforce the budget.
A sharp increase in bin charges proposed by the city manager, Mr John Fitzgerald, has split the 52 councillors. The council has proposed a 29 per cent increase, up €35 to €156 per year.
It is understood that the vote hangs on whether any of the nine Fine Gael members on the council change their vote and support the Estimates.
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, has the power to dissolve the council if it fails to reach agreement by midnight.
At a previous council vote, 27 voted against the estimates, 22 voted in favour, with one abstention. The Green Party and Fianna Fáil were in favour while Sinn Féin, Fine Gael and Labour voted against.
It is expected that Mr Dermot Lacey, Labour Party member and Lord Mayor of Dublin, will again defy the party line and vote to accept the Estimates, a move likely to see him excluded from his party group after the vote.
