ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

There are currently only 28 public toilets in operation in Dublin - but almost half of them are listed as 'closed' on the Dublin City Council website.

Councillors are now looking at ways of creating new facilities in a different social climate.

"In the 1970s we had 40 public toilets within the core city centre, but many of these have now closed due to anti-social use," said Dublin Town chief Richard Guiney.

"I think we can be a bit more imaginative now. I'd like to see an idea expanded where we would take empty buildings and then put in toilets and a concierge service to assist people in the city."

Such facilities could become a visitors' hub where people could pick up home deliveries and leave their bags when going shopping, he said. "They would also be somewhere for people to make complaints or observations about Dublin," he said. "Just having that space would be a reassurance for people using the city."

He conceded that a modest fee would need to be charged for the service. "I've used places like that on the continent and was very happy to pay a euro or thereabouts for a clean facility," he said.

And he says the cost of the new facilities could be shared between the council, the business community and perhaps Fáilte Ireland.

Councillor Donna Cooney said some of the toilets listed on the councils website were only temporary closed. "People are using the beaches and parks all year round, so there is absolutely no reason for a delay in reopening them," she said.