Council redeploys staff to power-hose streets of Cork amid criticism of grubby pavements 

City Hall blamed staining and discolouration of city’s granite paving on drinks spillages

Council cleansing staff power hosing the pavement on the Grand Parade. Picture: Cork City Council

Council cleansing staff have been redeployed to power-hose the streets in Cork City following the breakdown of the city centre's entire fleet of mechanical street-cleaning machines.

Amid criticism of the grubby paving, City Hall blamed the staining and discolouration of the city’s granite paving on drinks spillages which it said has become very visible in the recent dry spell, and insisted the breakdown of all three cleaning vehicles had not affected the condition of the streets.

“Staining and discolouration is not a natural phenomenon," it said.

“It only occurs when a person spills their alcoholic drink, fizzy drink, food, other beverages onto the public pavement.

It is very important to understand that personal responsibility is key to keeping Cork City’s streets clear of staining and discolouration.

“The key issue, which occurs every summer during dry spells, is the increased visibility of staining on the granite pavement which would normally not be as pronounced during wet weather.

“The recent spell of good weather has highlighted the staining due to spillages on the city streets.” 

The statement was issued following confirmation over the weekend that all three of the council's city centre mechanical street cleaning and washing machines are out of action due to “mechanical failures”.

The street scrubbing and washing vehicle has been off the road since March after developing a fault with its front brushing mechanism.

The two street-sweeping vehicles are out of action due to overheating and steering issues — one for the last two weeks and one since June 6 — but the council said new customs systems in the UK following Brexit have delayed the delivery of spare parts.

Business leaders criticised the condition of paving in the city and said the repairs must be fast-tracked.

But in its statement to the Irish Examiner, the council said it had increased its street-washing regime and deployed “alternative washing mechanisms” to address the temporary loss of the street-washing machine.

It said council staff have been redeployed to pressure washing on both the early morning shift and evening shift, targeting the worst-affected areas such as Winthrop Street and Grand Parade.

“There are also ongoing cleaning works on Oliver Plunkett, Daunt's Square, Coal Quay areas,” it said.

Teams are deep-cleaning street surfaces, street furniture and street bins so that the city looks attractive for residents, shoppers, workers and visitors to the city.” 

The council also said it recently engaged contractors at a cost of some €30,000 to deep-clean and pressure wash the city centre, and is looking to expand its washing crews to further improve the levels of service delivered.

“We are also looking to work with businesses in the city to get them involved in the cleaning of the area of the footpath outside of their premises. Such schemes are very common and in place in most cities around the world,” it said.

“We are confident that the current and ongoing increased cleaning measures which have been put in place will improve matters over the coming weeks.

“We would like to thank the public for their ongoing support and encourage all the public to dispose of litter, in particular liquids, in a responsible manner."