Public toilets revamp after tourist complaints in Cork

West Cork’s Wild Atlantic Way may be beautiful, but according to tourists its public toilets are anything but a pretty sight.

Following a plethora of complaints from visitors, Cork County Council has finally decided it needs to tackle the issue and has set aside some money this year to refurbish as many as it can in the region.

A meeting of the county council’s West Cork municipal district in Clonakilty yesterday heard that in particular the toilets in several towns and coastal/seaside villages are not up to scratch.

Fine Gael councillor Mary Hegarty said the public toilets in Bantry were particularly poor. They’re next to the tourist office and she said a comments’ book in the office was full of uncomplimentary remarks written about the facility by tourists.

Council officials said they were finishing off a programme of CCTV installation in the region’s towns, which will culminate with Castletownbere, and would now concentrate on toilet upgrades.

They acknowledged that it’s important to capitalise on the tourist influx through the Wild Atlantic Way and need to bring toilets up to a 21st century standard.

“They (public toilets) are often the first and last impression of a place a tourist has. We all have had many complaints from visitors about them and it would be money well-spent,” Independent councillor Declan Hurley said.

“We’re promoting West Cork as a tourist location through the Wild Atlantic Way and we badly need the toilets to be up to scratch.”

Sinn Féin councillor Paul Hayes said he had asked for an audit of all public toilets in the region last October and said it would be useful if this was done so they could prioritise which should be refurbished first.

Municipal district chairman Fianna Fáil councillor Christopher O’Sullivan said a lot of comments were made by visitors about the lack of suitable facilities in his hometown of Clonakilty which is one of the country’s top tourist attractions.

He said the toilet facilities in the harbour at Baltimore should be a template for all toilets in the region.

Mr O’Sullivan said most complaints he got were about toilets at Inchydoney, Red Strand and Tragumna.

Officials said it would cost a small fortune to bring all toilets up to the Baltimore standard, but said they were looking at getting grant aid on top of their own money for the upgrades. They also said they might partner local communities in doing up toilet blocks.

Fianna Fáil councillor Joe Carroll said superloos can cost around €40,000 a year to lease, while Fine Gael councillor Mary Hegarty said that sometimes the doors can slide open leaving the occupant in an embarrassing situation.

Council officials said there were no public toilets available in Long Island or Dursey Island and one was only seasonal on Heir Island.