Kerry beach needs toilets all year round for swimmers, surfers and water sports enthusiasts

By Alastair Tibbs, The Kerryman

Kerry County Council has been urged to provide public toilets all year round at one of the county’s “busiest and most popular beaches”.

Councillor Deirdre Ferris said the seasonal closure of the facilities is ‘causing difficulty’ for visitors, highlighting the beach’s popularity throughout the year, in a recent council meeting.

“Its one of the busiest and most popular beaches in the entire county. Everybody knows about Banna Beach in Kerry and we have no public toilets there Monday to Friday,” said Cllr Ferris.

“Swimmers, surfers, all water sports enthusiasts are going out 365 days a year. It’s not just a seasonal beach and it is causing difficulty. There are no operational showers for the surfers and the sea swimmers, and that there’s no public toilets Monday to Friday.”

Banna Beach public toilets were closed from Monday to Friday in October and are set to re-open in May.

Cllr Ferris had previously called the policy ‘unacceptable’ and said she would “not let this lie”.

Council Paul Daly also expressed his concern about the situation, emphasising the health benefits the beach provides for residents.

“It’s such a basic thing for the toilets to be open 365 days a year. There’s a huge amount of people using our beaches around Tralee and around Kerry,” said Cllr Daly.

“It’s a huge thing for their mental health, for exercise, for social meetings, and I really think keeping the public toilets open, especially around the beaches is very important.”