Controversial €180,000 Tipperary toilets open after payment system issue resolved
A €180,000 toilet block in Tipperary town has reopened after months of delays linked to problems with its payment system.
Tipperary County Council spent €180,000 refurbishing the toilet block in the Market Yard. The facilities briefly opened in March before closing again because of issues with the payment system.
Access to the toilets will cost 40 cent, and will be payable by card only.
The redeveloped facilities saw three individually-accessible bathroom stalls created, as well as a changing places facility, with a toilet, hoist, washbasin, height adjustable adult-sized changing bench, shower and adequate space for use by persons with a range of disabilities who may require assistance.
Changing places facilities are designed to offer larger sanitary facilities that address the needs of people with complex care needs and support them to take part in everyday activities.
Following months of delays, the municipal district has now confirmed that the payment issue has been resolved and the facilities are open to the public.
The public toilets will be open daily from 8.30am to 7.00pm, while the changing places facility will be open 24 hours a day to those with a dedicated key card.
The public toilets in Tipperary town were closed for a number of months while an issue with the payment system was resolved. © Katie O'Donovan
At a previous meeting of the Tipperary-Cahir-Cashel MD, Fine Gael councillor John Crosse said that the toilets should be open to the public free of charge until the issue with the payment system was addressed.
“What the public have said to me is to open the bloody doors anyway and let people use them, because people are coming to the doors and are getting frustrated, they’re walking away and they’re leaving the town,” Cllr Crosse said.
In response, Damien Ginty, district director of the Tipperary-Cahir-Cashel MD said that the council would be reluctant to open the doors on a temporary basis because of potential issues with anti-social behaviour.
“The idea behind the charge for the toilets is not a revenue-raising exercise, it is to mitigate anti-social behaviour.
“It is absolutely imperative that the significant pot of public funds that has gone into those toilets is not wasted through one or two incidents of anti-social behaviour,” Mr Ginty said.
Tipperary County Council was awarded a total of €250,000 in funding from the Town and Village Renewal Scheme to completely revamp the public toilets in the Market Yard in Tipperary town, with the project coming in significantly underbudget.