Complaints over Mountshannon toilets

The Inland Waterways Association of Ireland (IWAI) has received a string of complaints on its website regarding the closure of toilet facilities at Mountshannon Harbour last weekend.
The voluntary body of waterways enthusiasts has had a number of its members post complaints on its forum page that they were unable to access the toilet facilities, which are run by Clare County Council.
Clare Jordan, chairperson of the Lough Derg Branch of IWAI, said, “Among our own members there has been a lot of talk and concern about onshore toilet facilities. All of the harbours have had issues with toilets. We are coming into the May Bank Holiday weekend now and we will be hoping they be open this weekend, as it is probably one of the busiest weekends in the area. Toilets being locked up is usually a hot topic for discussion at our branch meetings and one I would expect at our next meeting,” Ms Jordan added.
She highlighted that with the sunny weather experienced recently, the toilets should have been opened.
“Mountshannon needs every boost it can get at the moment. For a place that has visitors throughout the year, especially at the weekends, it’s a disgrace that the public can’t rely on a local toilet. An awful lot of rental boats would go to Mountshannon and this is causing concern. In our experience, it is creating a negative image to tourists when we don’t have the basic facilities for them.
“The village itself has dwindled over the years with shop and pub closures and declining visitor numbers. They are now trying to get back on their feet and every advantage should be afforded to them,” Ms Jordan added.
Speaking to The Clare Champion, senior executive engineer in Scariff, Seán Lenihan advised that the toilet facilities in Mountshannon will be open from next weekend.
“Traditionally, we maintain the toilets from the May Bank Holiday weekend and we are currently making arrangements to have them opened. I recognise that the weather has been fine in the last few weeks but we were not in a position to open them due to limited resources. I should say that we have opened them in the past when it has been made known to us that a particular event is on, as there was a couple of weeks back. When it was made known to us, we organised that the toilets would be open. We would stress that out of season we need to be advised in advance,” Mr Lenihan explained.
However, he stressed that facilities put in place by the county council in the past have been “abused”.
“I have highlighted before about the amount of rubbish dumped there and that is unacceptable. We also have a situation where there is graffiti up there. That’s nothing but wanton vandalism and we have to have that painted over. As regards opening the toilets, it has always been our plan that they are opened and maintained from May until September,” he concluded.