It is ‘long past time’ that we addressed the lack of public toilets in Dublin, a local councillor has warned.

The capital used to have a network of 26 public toilets - but that number has dropped substantially in recent years.

Green Party Councillor for Kimmage-Rathmines Carolyn Moore told Newstalk Breakfast many are closed or unused.

"Over the years we just either closed them, refurbished them or a lot of them are just still sitting there unused," she said.

"We have three at the moment – we have two automated toilets in Clontarf and on Sandymount Strand and of course the public toilets at Stephen's Green that cost an astronomical amount to keep open and to run".

Cllr Moore said the public toilets at St Stephen's Green, which were meant to be temporary, cost over €20,000 a month.

Two security guards and a cleaner make up some of the large price tag.

'Limits people's participation'

Cllr Moore said she believes it is "long past time" that we tackled the issue.

"I certainly remember a couple of years ago when I requested that list of public conveniences and shared the results on Twitter people were very open about sharing their stories with me of experiences they've had in the city," she said.

"It sort of limits people's public participation that they can't have access to a public toilet if they need one".

A public toilet on a market square in 2015. Picture by: Daniel Karmann/DPA/PA Images

Cllr Moore said public toilets can sometimes attract anti-social behaviour – but that’s no reason to shut them all down.

"There's lots of council facilities that we can say sometimes attract anti-social behaviour but that doesn't necessarily mean we close them all down," she said.

"We often have issues with playgrounds attracting anti-social behaviour after hours but we don't say we won't have playgrounds anymore,” she said.

"It does just come down to what do we feel as a city we want to provide our citizens as basic facilities that they require and deserve.

"I think public toilets have to be a part of that discussion".

Cllr Moore said Dublin needs to offer the same facilities as other capital cities.

"We are a modern city centre, we attract huge numbers of tourists and this is just something that for the new council term we've put back on the agenda in a big way," she said.

The capital is to host several large-scale events this weekend, including three sold-out Taylor Swift concerts and the 2024 Dublin Pride Parade.

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Main image: A public toilet on a market square in 2015. Image: Daniel Karmann/DPA/PA Images