Disused public toilets on Grand Parade to be removed from the street in the coming months

The disused unit of public toilets on Grand Parade will be removed from the street “in the next two to three months”, Cork City Council has confirmed.

The facilities, which have been closed for a number of years, had intermittently been out of service since their development in 2008 and had become a drug-use hotspot and a target for vandalism.

Independent councillor Mick Finn and Sinn Féin councillor Mick Nugent had tabled a motion proposing that the unit could be converted into a city centre policing hub, but the council executive ruled this out for a number of reasons.

The council’s director of services for roads and environment operations, David Joyce said the conversion of the unit would prove “difficult and costly to adapt”.

“The unit is a prefabricated toilet block without independent walls and floors, which are in fact integrated into the toilet cubicles themselves.

“As such, an entirely new structure would have to be designed, built and fitted out rather than a conversion of the existing unit,” he said.

“It is also worth noting that both the Bridewell and Anglesea Street Garda Stations are located in close proximity to the city centre and are opened 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“The city council has been advised that An Garda Síochána cannot guarantee that a further building could be manned on a continual basis, thus significantly negating the usefulness of this proposed outreach hub,” he added.

Speaking at a council meeting on Monday, Mr Finn said he understood the council’s reasoning but asked if the unit was not going to be repurposed into a policing hub, what were the future plans for it.

Independent councillor Kieran McCarthy described the vacant unit as an “eyesore” which he said “adds to the general street clutter” in the area.

“If we’re not using it and if we can’t use it, perhaps the building needs to be taken down," he added. 

At the meeting, Mr Joyce confirmed that the unit will be removed from the street “in the next two to three months”.

The local authority has also confirmed that a new public toilet facility on Grand Parade has been opened adjacent to the library, as part of the council’s public toilet policy.

“This facility provides a much-needed accessible toilet and baby changing unit, as well as one unisex toilet.

“The toilets are accessed directly via an entrance on the Grand Parade, which is separate to the main City Library entrance.

“The toilets are supervised at all times, with contactless pay for use in place (50c),” a report stated.