Michael Moynihan: I'm a little bit worried about the new public toilets opening up in Cork
The new toilets being installed in the Marina. Picture: Cork City Council
You may have seen in these pages recently that a new public convenience is opening in Cork.
Last week Imasha Costa reported here that public toilets are to be opened on the Marina Promenade, down towards Pairc Ui Chaoimh, this week — specific location: beside Cortado Coffee at the start of that parking area towards Shandon Boat Club.
My introduction is intentionally colourless, given the temptation to throw some puns around with the opening of a new loo.
Anyway, good news. The more public toilets in Cork the better.
Might be worth drilling into some of the detail, mind.
As reported: “A council spokesperson said the addition to Marina Park is part of its ongoing policy to provide public toilets in areas with the ‘highest footfall’.
“‘Therefore, the Regional Park in Ballincollig, Fitzgerald’s Park, Tramore Valley Park and now Marina Park all have public toilets,’ the spokesperson said.”
This is interesting, though not for the obvious reasons, such as the generosity which includes those public toilets in Fitzgerald’s Park. Last summer Social Democrats TD Pádraig Rice pointed out that the toilet in the park was locked up (a city council spokesperson told : “Currently only one of the toilets in Fitzgerald's Park is operational. Cork City Council are waiting on an ESB supply upgrade to operate both toilets”).
And it isn’t interesting just for the reason given by the council, that its policy is to provide public toilets in those areas with the highest footfall. There’s a pretty obvious retort to this: surely the centre of the city has a high enough footfall to justify a few extra toilets?
On that note, Pádraig Rice provided some thought-provoking comparisons when discussing that locked toilet in Fitzgerald’s Park: “Paris, for example, has, on average, six public toilets per square kilometre. It shouldn’t be beyond our ability to manage a network of public toilets. There is an obvious lack of public toilets across the city.” Six public toilets per square kilometre, eh?
Also very interesting: another contributor to the story of the locked toilet in the park was Paddy O’Brien, long-time campaigner for the elderly in Cork. He said that senior citizens regularly express their unhappiness with the lack of public toilets in Cork.
“I can’t understand why there is such a shortage of this essential service,” he said at the time.
“Some senior citizens tell me they are confined in their homes and would not venture into the city centre for lack of public toilets.” To this cohort I would add people with small children, who may have to plan their excursions to the city around the availability of nappy-changing facilities. And yes, there’s an irony here to be excavated from the fact that the very old and very young seem equally stymied by the lack of public conveniences.
Another interesting observation from Paddy O’Brien: in 1960, there were six public toilets in Cork city centre, and now there is one.
So almost seventy years ago we had public toilet density on a Parisian level in the city proper. Now we have one-sixth of that number, though there are plans for more toilets.
For Tramore Valley Park, Ballincollig, and Fitzgerald’s Park, that is. As dictated by footfall.
That isn’t good enough for the city centre, full stop.
As stated by Padraig Rice: “Public toilets are an important public service, and the City Council has a responsibility to provide and maintain them.”
Referring to distant locations is an abdication of that responsibility. Imasha Costa was told that additional public toilets are also available under the “Central Hall” structure near the city end of Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
Very handy if you’re short taken on Patrick’s St.
As noted, this new loo is an interesting development, but not just because of the aforementioned reasons.
What I find fascinating is that this new facility on the Marina has something of the original sin of Cork projects about it, and by that I don’t mean that it’s taking place on the southside of the city* rather than the northern shores, like Tramore Valley Park or — technically — Fitzgerald’s Park. (*Though I reserve the right to return to this point.) Namely, this is the honeymoon phase. We have celebration of the opening, no shortage of facts and figures, a brisk sketch of the wider context and brave sentiments about the near future. Photo calls, no doubt, and uplifting sentiments. A bright new world of shiny porcelain and functioning hand-dryers, waiting to be discovered.
It should be pointed out, in fairness, that Cork seems to have gotten a bargain here. As long ago as 2015, was reporting that nine public toilets in County Cork county “one in Ballincollig, one in Monkstown, one in Carrigaline, two in Midleton and four in Youghal — cost €250,000 per year, for leasing and maintenance.”
Those costs don’t appear to be falling, either. As recently as last week, a district council in Limerick was told that the capital cost of installing public toilet infrastructure is in the region of €85,000 and that the yearly maintenance cost of running a public toilet is in the region of €25,000 per annum.
Given Cork City Council said last week that it has cost “just over €30,000 to buy the new toilet unit for Marina Park, with its daily maintenance and cleaning regime linked to a 10-year lease,” this appears to be great value for money.
The fly in the ointment is buried in that last quotation, however: the daily maintenance and cleaning regime. Because if there was ever a place which needed regime change in this regard, it’s Cork. After celebrating the launch, opening, unveiling, or arrival, comes the morning after.
That means maintenance. And there is precious little content which can be used for photo opportunities or press releases in repairing, patrolling, securing, cleaning, tidying, painting — all the little jobs necessary to keep a facility in good working order, in fact.
That’s why I’m a little worried for these new toilets.
It’s great that there are now going to be new public toilets down by the Marina because it’s an area which is popular with a lot of people. It’s unfortunate that there are no new public toilets for the centre of the city because that’s an area which is even more popular with a lot more people.
But it’s truly unfortunate there are nowhere near the same number of public toilets in the centre of the city that there were sixty-five years ago.
It would have been far, far easier to repair, clean and maintain those facilities than to create public toilets from scratch, but... well, you get the message about Cork and maintenance. I’ve said it enough times.
When the launch, celebration and unveiling of the Marina toilet are in the past I hope this facility is maintained at the necessary level, unlike the neglected and dirty corners of Cork which appear to have been completely forgotten. But I have my doubts.
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