Cash flushed down the toilet

Clare County Council expects to spend €100,000 more than it takes in next year on two sets of public toilets at opposite ends of the county.
The local authority paid out €98,378 in 2012 keeping the toilets open at Kilkee and Killaloe, while only about €2,000 was recouped from users.
The way the council reported this year’s figures prompted one local representative to ask if the toilets were even being used.
Councillor Brian Meaney pointed to figures in the draft 2013 budget showing in excess of €98,000 had been paid by the council in 2012 to keep the toilets open. While €1,500 was expected to be recouped, the expenditure and income for 2013 and estimated Outturn for 2012 document appeared to indicate that no money had been taken in.
“The council expected €1,500 from that but there was no income. Were they even used? They represent an expenditure of €98,378 and it appears that nobody spent a penny, literally,” Councillor Meaney stated.
Director of Services, Transportation, Water Services and Environment, Ann Haugh, explained that roughly €2,000 was taken in from users of the toilets but that it had been logged under a separate heading. She countered Councillor Meaney’s claim the toilets were not being used.
Clare County Council passed the budget for 2013 allocating €102,787 for ‘public conveniences’. It estimates that income from the two toilets will be about €2,567.