Call for more public toilets in Limerick

WITH public health experts urging us to look towards an “outdoor summer,” a fresh call has been made on Limerick council to provide more public toilets.

Over the weekend, many people ventured into the city’s parks and riverbanks to enjoy the glorious sunshine.

However, Independent councillor Elisa O’Donovan has said that by not providing public toilets, Limerick becomes “inaccessible to a great many people”.

Currently, there are only two public amenities in the city centre – beside Dunnes Stores in Henry Street and outside the People’s Park.

"Over the weekend I contacted the Limerick Council chief executive and the executive to request that  we follow Dublin City Council's lead and open public buildings on a ‘toilet only’ basis. Two public toilets available in a city with 90,000 people is really just not acceptable" she said. 

“This is an issue of equality of access to public spaces and we need to take it very seriously” she continued. “I have been inundated with contact from people across the city telling me that because they need regular access to toilets. Several people have told me about their great distress at getting "caught short" while away from home and how they’ve been afraid to leave home since,” said Cllr O’Donovan.

She pointed out that women are disproportionately impacted by the lack of public toilets.

“Menstruation, pregnancy, babies, buggies, bladder issues, caring duties, and assisting older people are all issues that impact women and require access to bathrooms,” she explained, ““This is not an issue of convenience, this is a very serious issue of health and wellbeing. Access to bathroom facilities is vital if we want to have a city that is accessible to everyone.”

At last week’s metropolitan meeting, Cllr O’Donovan had asked if there was the possibility of installing temporary public toilets across the city for the summer.

However, in a written reply, the council’s metropolitan district manager Kieran Lehane ruled this out, saying there is not the funding, and suggesting the need for ongoing maintenance and cleaning could also present a problem.