ELECTED representatives and council officials have a duty to provide basic services for the public. And there are few things more basic than a public toilet. Yet Dublin City Council has closed or demolished every single public convenience in the capital.
Some were metal monstrosities, hangovers from the Victorian era; others were basic facilities, neglected and filthy and often in basements or below ground level; but all served a necessary purpose and were a response to the law that makes urinating in a public place a statutory offence. The law remains – along with a requirement on the Garda Síochána to enforce it – but the toilets have disappeared. This does not just reflect a shortage of money at city hall, it exposes a suffocating, elitist attitude by those in authority to the needs of ordinary citizens and visitors.
The situation has become so bad that the council now intends to provide temporary, late-night toilets at two centre city locations, at Camden Street and Westmoreland Street. But they will be available only on Friday and Saturday nights. And they will be exclusively for men. A council spokeswoman said it had no plans to provide toilets for women as it did not experience problems with women urinating in the streets. That says it all. Council action has been driven by complaints from businesses that object to men relieving themselves against the walls and doors of their premises.
The issue of public health arises only when excuses are given for the closure of previously available facilities. Public toilets were closed, the council spokeswoman explained, due to serious health and safety concerns for both public and council staff. Toilets were frequently used by intravenous drug users and their discarded needles posed a health hazard.
That is certainly true. But it is equally true in other European cities where the authorities ensure that locals and visitors alike can avail of regularly cleaned and supervised facilities. Such services certainly cost money. But it ensures that street gutters do not become urinal channels.
Independent councillor Mannix Flynn is justified in his criticisms and in his demand that permanent public toilets be provided immediately in Dublin. There has been much talk about the need to rebuild the tourism industry and to attract a greater number of visitors. A first step should be the provision of basic but modern facilities. If public toilets could be afforded more than 100 years ago, why not today?