Busted flush: Toilet facilities in city centre branded ‘inadequate’

Cork City Council has confirmed that the disused public toilets on Grand Parade will be removed from the street, with works due to commence in July.

There is now a new public toilet available, however, the city centre has only three public facilities in total according to city council but that has been branded as "completely inadequate”.

According to a council spokesperson, the removal of the disused facilities is planned as part of the Grand Parade area refurbishment. Over the years, these facilities had deteriorated, and when asked about the reason for decommissioning, the representative told the paper that “they were no longer fit for purpose”.

The new toilet facility is situated adjacent to the city library and was fully opened to the public on 10 March of this year. However, it seems it has largely gone unnoticed by most until former city councillor Fiona Ryan brought it to the attention of her social media followers when she posted about the facility on Twitter.

“Apparently the brown door next to the Library in Cork City is a public toilet (accessed via 50 cent contactless payment) is open. No signage. Most councillors didn't know it there, let alone the broader public. God forbid we have public amenities used,” she said.

Access to the discreet toilet is through a separate door on the Grand Parade, distinct from the library's main entrance. It includes an accessible toilet, a baby-changing unit, and a single unisex toilet.

This facility is supervised and comes at a cost of 50c, which can be made through a contactless payment system.

However, there have been calls to make the toilet more visible to the public by adding additional signage. When asked about this the city council spokesperson said that “it is currently under review as part of refurbishment plans for the area”.

At present, there are three public toilets available in the city centre. They are located at the North Main Street Shopping Centre, the English Market, and Grand Parade.

Cllr Kieran McCarthy, who runs historical walking tours in the city says that the public facilities are not good enough. “The public toilets in the city are completely and utterly inadequate,” he told the Cork Independent. “But I know from being in the council’s chamber that there’s no money to invest in it.”

“Down through the years, we got rid of public toilets. 30 years ago there probably was 12 or 13 toilets but over time they disappeared,” he said. Kieran explained that there is an overdependence on private businesses to provide facilities. “The council has depended on the private sector in town, but if I’m giving a walking tour, I can’t have 40 or 50 people traipsing into somebody’s toilet units,” he added.

While Kieran believes that the toilet next to the city library is “fine”, he said it’s not enough for the tourists that come through the city on any given day during the summer months. “It needs money and I don’t think it’s a lack of will, it’s a lack of funding,” he said.