Public toilets a blackspot

THE public toilets in Townparks, Cavan Town, are regularly being used by drinkers and drug-users, rendering them out of bounds to everyone else. And the anti-social behaviour in and around the town centre’s public toilets does not end at substance abuse. The facilities’ caretaker told the Celt he has “seen it all” in his time as cleaner.

“You name it, I’ve found it in the toilets,” George Harrison said. “I would say five out of seven days a week, I pick up stuff left behind from drug-taking including needles, empty deodorant cans and foil.”

The caretaker says more than once he has been at the toilets in Tesco carpark when a wheelchair user has needed the bathroom but cannot get in to the designated toilet because a person inside is using drugs and refuses to open the door.

Our picture shows scorched tinfoil discarded on the floor of the town centre’s disabled toilet found recently. The discovery of burnt foil in the secluded location of a locked bathroom suggests it has been left there by someone abusing crack cocaine or heroin in the public space.

THANKLESS TASK

Mr Harrison also describes dealing with broken glass “daily”, faeces regularly smeared on toilet walls, and people even closing the lid of the loo before they use it.

Cavan County Council has a contract with a third-party cleaning company to maintain the toilets, who in turn, employ Mr Harrison.

For over six years now, he has opened and locked the toilets every day except on Christmas and New Year’s Day, when they are closed to the public.

Apart from cleaning the men’s, women’s and disabled toilets twice daily, Mr Harrison also regularly spot-checks them throughout the day and cleans them again if necessary.

It’s a never-ending and often fruitless task, he told the Celt.

“You clean it up,” Mr Harrison says, “but no matter what I say or do, when I go back the next day it’s the same.”

SORRY STATE

Mr Harrison says it makes him sad to see men and women coming to the toilets to drink during the day. He has come to know some of the local people, aged from their teens to their 40s, who regularly use dangerous drugs in the toilets.

The Celt asked Cavan County Council for comment. A spokesperson said in addition to the regular daily cleaning carried out by Mr Harrison, the authority also pays for another outside cleaning company to deep-clean the toilets quarterly.

ANTI-SOCIAL

“Unfortunately, incidents of anti-social behaviour have taken place at this location,” a statement from Cavan County Council reads. “Reports of this behaviour have been made to An Garda Síochána.

“While every effort is made by the local authority - through its cleaning contractor - to keep these toilets clean for use by the general public, the policing of anti-social behaviour is not within the remit of the local authority.”

Cavan Town Councillor Patricia Walsh (FF) says she has been aware of the anti-social behaviour at the toilets for some time, but worries that not much can be done to preserve the facilities for use by locals, shoppers, tourists and disabled people.

“Unless you have someone posted at them 24 hours a day – and no one actually wants that – then this type of behaviour is going to happen,” Cllr Walsh said. “I don’t know what else can be done.”

Meanwhile, Mr Harrison suggests a system whereby only people carrying a disabled person’s blue badge can gain access to the disabled toilets.

ACTIVE PATROLS

An Garda Síochána say proactive patrolling have increased in the greater Cavan Town area over the past number of weeks, and Garda management is determined to keep this matter under constant review.

“These proactive patrols have resulted in a series of arrests for allegedly engaging in public disorder, anti-social behaviour and street-level criminality in the Cavan town area and prolific offenders will continue to be monitored, targeted and subject to rigorous enforcement,” a spokesperson for Cavan Gardaí confirmed.

“In addition, community beats are undertaken by gardaí in the Cavan Town area to increase Garda visibility with the objective of deterring, preventing, and detecting incidents of street-level criminality, public disorder, and anti-social behaviour,” they said.

ALTERNATIVES

The council also pointed out there are toilets at all public council offices/facilities, and at Con Smith Park, with additional ‘changing places’ facilities to be delivered as part of the upcoming Abbeylands regeneration project.

All of these facilities are maintained by the council or a contracted third party.