'Urine wardens' proposed for Ennis

THE CHAIRMAN of the Joint Policing Committee in Ennis yesterday proposed the appointment of two “urine wardens” to tackle the problem of public urination in the town at weekends.

The proposal by Cllr Paul O’Shea (Lab) is one of a number sparked off by Ennis businessman John O’Connor, who installed an “electric fence” for revellers who urinate on his shopfront at weekends.

Already, Mr O’Connor’s device has claimed its first victim and Mr O’Shea said yesterday: “Ennis needs to be at the forefront of tackling this serious problem.”

Ennis Town Council is already spending €74,017 a year to lease the two “superloos” in the Market Street and Abbey Street car park areas. Last year, it received about €4,000 in fees from the toilets, which cost 25 cent each time to use the amenities.

Mr O’Shea said the appointment of urine wardens would be on a trial basis and they would patrol the town’s streets at weekends on the look-out for revellers urinating in public.

Mr O’Shea said: “The wardens would then notify the gardaí and on-the-spot fines would be issued. I’m very serious about this.”

Yesterday, Mayor Frankie Neylon (Ind) said he would support Mr O’Shea if he brought a motion on the issue. “I would encourage it on a trial basis, but if our traffic wardens are getting spat at during the day in carrying out their duty, I believe any urine warden would be in a lot of danger at 3 o’clock in the morning. I can see difficulties with it.”

In his proposal, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) suggested the council follow an initiative in New South Wales in Australia and provide public urinals at weekends to combat the problem.

Cllr Brian Meaney (Green) said a website should be set up where people could upload photos of people urinating in public in Ennis in a “name-and-shame” initiative.