Portaloo solutions not flushed with success suggest Councillors

The suitability and sustainability of portaloos as a solution for inadequate toilet facilities at locations within the Donegal Municipal District caused a bit of a stinker when their effectiveness and value for money came under scrutiny at the June MD monthly meeting in Donegal Town.

The issue was initially raised by Cllr Barry Sweeny (FG), who was expressing concerns about the general state of access and an awkward incline coming off a boardwalk onto the main beach strand on Rossnowlagh.

He said that portaloo toilet facilities at one of the main beaches in the county were also very much a topic of discussion, one which had been highlighted even further, by the spell of great weather that the south and south west of the county had experienced over the previous number of weeks.

Reference was also made to the foul odours that quickly manifest around the ‘loos’ in times of warm weather usage.

“The warm weather does not help these portaloos, they were to be plumbed directly into the sewers, but they are not at the minute. A better solution would be better public conveniences,” Cllr Sweeny said.

Cllr Niamh Kennedy (Ind.) added her concerns to the debate by stating that there “had been a lot of complaints regarding portaloos and conditions they were being left in”.

She said that campervans were also dumping their waste into the temporary toilet facilities. ”This needs to be addressed big time,” she said.

“Yes, they are necessary at times but we need proper investment,” she added as she sought information on potential funding that might help address the issues, where portaloos were being used as temporary solutions. She also said that her observations were that the number of these portaloos was also decreasing at various locations, which in turn, was also causing greater pressure on the ones that were in situ.

“The reality is that we need permanent facilities and that is the path we should be progressing.”

Cllr Noel Jordan (SF) said that he would like to see the figures of how much they as a council were spending on these temporary facilities. He wanted to know if they were value for money in what they were providing and while “you sometimes have to make do with what you have, they are not the answer.”

He said that a short spell of good weather, as had been experienced, could see an overflow at these locations within days. Being used to maximum capacity, “then there are the things that follow on from this”.

In terms of beaches, he also asked about the requirement for dog fouling warning signage in places like Ballyboyle and scenic walks.

This also prompted Cllr Micheál Naughton to express his concerns about facilities that had been erected at Murvagh, which “are an eyesore at the minute” as well as dogs running loose, not on leashes and .

Suzanne Bogan, Waste Awareness officer with the environmental section of Donegal County Council said that she would make inquiries as to the plumbing for the portaloos at Rossnowlagh beach and the request for “proper investment” for such facilities at scenic and coastal areas, where portaloos were presently being operated.

Cllr Jordan emphasised that “more permanent structures” were now required for portaloos, but that they also needed to be lockable at night.

He said that in most cases, they were being looked after by local communities, in which they were based but increasingly, he had become aware that campervan owners were using them at night to discharge their waste into the portaloos, which was adding to blockages and other problems.

Cllr Tom Conaghan said that “it is not an easy thing to address at the moment, you can't have one without the other”. He suggested that it was important to get all those with vested interests to speak together and with the council, to come up with the most practical solutions available.