There can’t be many towns the size of Drogheda that don’t have public toilets. The only public facilities in Drogheda, located at George’s Square, have been closed and locked since 2019 because they were the scene of anti-social behaviour. 

The issue has been brought up on several occasions in Council meetings and was raised once again on Monday by Mayor Paddy Mc Quillan who requested the Council, as a matter of urgency, to begin the process of the installation of public toilets in Drogheda.

The written reply he received from David Jones, the Council’s Director of Services, Placemaking and Physical Development was far from encouraging however.

“The existing public toilet block located within George's Square were closed circa 2019 due to safety, repeated antisocial behaviour and maintenance issues” he explained.

He also said that in the context of Westgate Vision, the Council’s Design Team reviewed the potential to retain the toilet block, but considered that this was not possible.

The design team cited the difficult topography levels within George's Square, the large footprint of the toilet block, the requirement to deliver a high-quality arrival/gateway area within George's Square, the requirement to provide universal (Part M) access within George's Square and the requirement to enhance functionality of the areas located adjacent to the existing businesses/building line.

On a more positive note however, the Council said they “...will monitor public convenience options within the wider Drogheda town area, in terms of more modern, safe and accessible public convenience solutions with smaller footprints that could be installed at a suitable location in the future, subject to funding.

Councillor McQuillan was less than impressed with the response. “We're the largest town in Ireland” he said. “We're trying to sell ourselves as a Destination Heritage town. We can't keep using the excuse of the possibility of anti-social behaviour as an excuse not to have public toilets.

“We also can't wait until the West Gate Vision gets passed and built. That could take years. There are plenty of firms providing self-cleaning public toilets and I can't see why the council can't use one of them. This kind of public toilet works perfectly in the north of the county.

“The summer is closing fast and there has been a massive increase in applications for festival funding. With this extra footfall on our streets it is imperative that the council act immediately in providing public toilets for Drogheda.”