Town trapped in costly loo contract

A CASH-STRAPPED town council is locked into a loo agreement that will cost the authority almost €500,000 over the next 10 years, it has emerged.

Senior member of Kilrush Town Council Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) conceded yesterday that the council cannot afford to extricate itself from a contract to 2019 with a private company that is providing the pay-per-use "superloo".

The council budget for the west Clare town for 2009 includes a loss of more than €38,000 on the loo and this loss is set to increase annually until 2019.

Next year, the council is to spend €39,806 on single stall with the local authority estimating it will generate only €1,300 from people using the amenity.

During 2008, the provision of the public toilet in the town cost the council €38,325 with the public only spending €1,250 each year to use the superloo. A private company has a contract to provide the superloo until 2019 and it is estimated that its charges will total more than €425,000 in index-linked fees.

Mr Prendeville said yesterday: "We are caught in a bind. The costs to the council of the toilet are very, very significant. We can't extricate ourselves from the contract because we can't afford to and we are examining a number of options."

Mr Prendeville said that initially the council "was shamed and embarrassed" into getting the superloo due to the negative publicity relating to the council's previous public toilets, which had fallen into disrepair. The council has been told that it may cost more than €100,000 to end the contract.

A penalty clause compels it to give 12 months' notice to end the contract and pay 25 per cent of the remainder of the contract.

Cllr Deirdre Culligan (Ind) said the council should terminate the contract and save the local authority €300,000 over 10 years.

She said: "There is no demand for this toilet as it is only being used about six times a day. It is money down the toilet."