An upgrade to Ballydehob’s public toilets is needed along with a new contract for running them, a councillor has said.

Cllr Danny Collins (Ind Ire) said public toilet facilities were a pressing issue in the village, one of the busiest places in West Cork during the summer.

He pointed to the many festivals held there during the summer months including the Country and Western Festival.

Cllr Collins proposed a motion to build additional stand-alone toilets at a recent meeting of the West Cork Municipal District because the only public ones available are at Ballydehob Community Hall.

In 2008 a ten-year contract for the public toilets was signed between Cork County Council and Ballydehob Community Association, he said. He believed the contract had run out.

‘A safety briefing was done recently and there was a number of issues with the toilets. On the day of the assessment the weather was poor and the floor was extremely slippery. The door design needs to be altered to stop the rain coming in the door,’ he said.

Cllr Collins said the assessment had found that the toilets were an insufficient distance from the door, which made them incredibly difficult for elderly people and people with mobility issues to use. ‘I have used the toilets myself and they are outdated and need to be upgraded,’ Cllr Collins said.

Cllr Caroline Cronin (FG) said she would usually support such a motion, but believed stand-alone toilets would not be the best solution.

Cllr Cronin said there were already public toilets at Ballydehob Community Hall and the arrangement had worked really well over the years.

She added that the toilets there already operate under a long-term agreement.

Cllr Collins proposed to change the wording of his motion and suggested sitting down with Ballydehob Community Association to discuss plans to upgrade the toilets with a view to signing a new contract. Cllrs George Gill (FF) and Finbarr Harrington (Ind) said they were in full support of the motion.

‘Anything we can do to improve the existing would be great. The community hall committee do Trojan work,’ Cllr Harrington said.

Municipal District Officer Eimear O’Neill said the council had entered into an agreement with Ballydehob Community Association for the provision and operation of public toilets.

‘The council is currently reviewing the status of the lease and associated agreements,’ she said.