The Labour Party today said the Government bears "the ultimate responsibility" for the jailing of two public representatives in connection with the bin protests.
Environment spokesman, Mr Eamon Gilmore, said the situation had been caused the Government's introduction of the legislation to allow local authorities to stop collecting refuse from those who did not pay charges.
Mr Gilmore was speaking after the High Court jailed Socialist Party TD Mr Joe Higgins and Councillor Ms Clare Daly for one month for their part in the Dublin anti-bin charge protests.
He said: "The government must also bear responsibility for starving Fingal and other local authorities of the revenue necessary to maintain services, which placed officials in a position where they believed that they had to adopt an aggressive approach to the collection of charges."
Mr Gilmore called on the Minister for Environment to intervene in the row over refuse charges and seek a solution which would allow the release of Mr Higgins and Ms Daly from prison.
Fine Gael expressed regret at the jailing of Mr Higgins but said it was an "inevitable conclusion to the demonstration against bin charges in Fingal County".
Party spokesman Mr Simon Coveney said: "While it is regrettable that a member of the Oireachtas be jailed for any matter, not least for defying a High Court ruling, it was inevitable given the illegal manner in which he and his supporters blocked the legitimate imposition of a progressive waste charge in Fingal."
"What this decision shows is that no individual is above the law. Any person has the right to protest and campaign on matters that interest them, but they have an absolute responsibility to do so within the bounds of the law," he said