'If I had my way I would bin Cork's bins,' says council chief

Cork County Council chief executive Tim Lucey criticised the public for littering and for the state some toilets had been left in.

Crowds at Youghal beach, Co Cork, over the weekend. The council has been urged to provide portaloos and litter bins at scenic locations.Picture: Eddie O'Hare

Long queues formed at a public toilet that had no toilet paper or hand sanitiser over the weekend, another was broken and could not be used by three pregnant women, while mountains of rubbish are blighting beauty spots.

In response, Cork county councillors have urged the local authority to provide portaloos at scenic locations, especially at beaches that have seen crowds of visitors since Covid-19 restrictions started to ease.

They have also sought more litter bins and additional outdoor staff to be deployed in areas that are attracting a large volume of people. 

However, council chief executive Tim Lucey said the local authority has 958 litter bins across the county and if he had his way it would not have any. He criticised the public for littering and for the state some toilets had been left in.

“We spend €3.2m on street cleaning and litter management every year. It's not a good use of taxpayers' money,” said Mr Lucey.

He said the council is set to mount a social media campaign aimed at urging the public to take their litter home and to clean up after their dogs.

The council operates 61 public toilets, the majority of which are open.

Green Party councillor Liam Quaide said it is essential that toilets be provided “to protect public health” and that something needs to be done about “demoralising scenes of rubbish strewn around overflowing bins”. 

He said the toilets in Youghal had no toilet paper or hand sanitiser on a day last weekend when up to 40 people queued, while Fianna Fáil councillor Audrey Buckley raised the issue of the broken toilet in Crosshaven and the three pregnant women left in the lurch as a result.

'It's a disgrace'

“It's a disgrace in this day and age we don't have toilet facilities in many areas,” said Ms Buckley.

Fine Gael councillor Kevin Murphy said litter “was shocking in Kinsale” and it was “strewn all over the streets”. 

He added that the council needs to “find the finance for portable toilets in the interests of hygiene”. 

Independent councillor Danny Collins said more staff are needed on the ground and was concerned there are not enough parking spaces at beaches.

He said the crowds visiting Barleycove beach in West Cork recently had been “frightening” and that cars were being parked willy-nilly on narrow approach roads, which could prevent the emergency services getting through to a serious incident.