Public toilets in Dublin city are needed to prevent increased public urination, a Green Party councillor has warned.
Councillor for Clontarf Donna Cooney said a lack of public toilets in Dublin city is leading to increased “wild toileting”.
“It's going to be an issue because we just don't have the public toilets for people to use,” she told Newstalk Breakfast.
Ms Cooney said public toilets serve an obvious need in Dublin city to prevent public urination.
“Nobody likes to walk down a lane that’s obviously been used,” she said.
She said public toilets are particularly necessary for events and festivals in the city, including St. Patrick’s Festival.
“I got complaints from people who said there were big queues at any of the pubs, restaurants and cafés when they wanted to go toilets,” Ms Cooney said.
“They felt there should have been public toilets made available.”
Worth the risk
Ms Cooney said that there was a rise in temporary public toilets in Dublin during COVID-19 restrictions, such as outside St. Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre.
There are less toilets available since the pandemic as more businesses have shut down.
Local authorities are hesitant to introduce permanent public toilets due to safety concerns, according to Councillor Cooney.
"[Councillors] wanted to have them staffed, they felt the toilets weren't safe - that they could be vandalised and attract anti-social behaviour.”
Ms Cooney said if there are occasional issues, it is worth the risk to have a public service.
A fee to pee
Ms Cooney said public toilets such as the one on Bull Island are too “convoluted” for the city.
The public toilet on Bull Island requires exact coin change for use and does not accept card payments.
The toilet is also self-cleaning and can take a long time to clean before it can be used again, Ms Cooney said.
“We could just put some eco-toilets down there.”
Ms Cooney said there may need to be a fee for use of some public toilets in the city.
“I think they have to be usable by a credit card, some simple method.”
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Main image: People queuing to use the public toilets beside St Stephens Green in Dublin, 29-03-2021. Image: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews
