Costly superloos not for Irish Water

Irish Water has been accused of washing its hands of public superloos after it refused to take responsibility for their costly upkeep.

Despite taking over the running of all public water and sewerage schemes from local authorities, the utility says it will not take responsibility for the public toilets which are costing councils a fortune to maintain.

Many superloos around the country are leased out by private companies to local authorities, often locking them into lengthy contracts.

A recent report delivered to county councillors in Cork showed that on average it costs the local authority €12 every time somebody uses the facility — or “spends a penny”.

Irish Water has stated that superloos are the responsibility of county councils and gave no further explanation as to why it was not taking them over.

Midleton-based councillor Patrick Buckley said he suspects Irish Water knows it cannot make a profit from the toilets as there is no way a user could be charged €12.

“You couldn’t possibly put in such a charge as that would be totally outrageous. These toilets are put in place as a needful service in many of our towns and we have subsidised them over the years, like some other services,” said the Sinn Fein councillor.

He said councils were tied into contracts, especially for modern, so-called self-cleaning toilets.

“As Irish Water says in its booklet ‘water in and wastewater out,’ that’s what you’re going to be charged for.

“While Irish Water has no problem making money from charges for these two services, they are very fast to flush the notion of taking in charge these superloos as it will cost them money.”

He accused the utility of discriminating in favour of metering, where it will make money, but shirking its responsibility when it comes to covering the cost of people using public conveniences.

He said he was “shocked” when council officials informed himself and colleagues about the cost of operating the toilets.

There are nine local authority superloos in the county — one in Ballincollig, one in Monkstown, one in Carrigaline, two in Midleton, and four in Youghal.

They cost €250,000 per year for leasing and maintenance.

People who are caught short must spend 50c but the total combined income from the nine loos is just €10,000.

Cllr Buckley said councils around the country “will have to go back to the drawing board and try and renegotiate the price of these public facilities”. But he says superloos are a necessity.

“When the old toilets were in use many years ago they just were not safe to use, despite the council staff doing their best to keep them clean.

"Never again will someone have to stand or hover over a urinal or fight their way through the mounds of discarded cans and toilet paper or break a world record for holding their breath.

“Public toilets can reflect the tone of a town, village or city.

“East Cork is a hub for tourists just like most of the country so while it is extremely expensive we need to keep our public toilets up to a proper hygienic standard.”