Caught short spending a penny in faulty superloos!
Members of the public were ‘caught with their pants down’ because locks on public loos with automated doors in the city were not working properly.
Galway City Council moved to close down public conveniences at three locations because they weren’t locking properly – leaving users exposed.
The local authority has confirmed it carried out a ‘risk assessment’ on all automated public convenience units.
In all, nine tests were carried out on each door of each loo, and the risk assessment found that “there are safety devices in place on all doors but these could be improved”.
Brendan McGrath, Chief Executive of Galway City Council, said that “all of the issues that could be resolved immediately were resolved”.
But three toilets had to be closed at Salthill, at Galway Cathedral and one of three units at Eyre Square “because safety devices were not working appropriately”.
Further repairs were carried out this week so that the loos could reopen to the public, and a portable toilet has been in place at the Cathedral for several weeks as a temporary measure.
“The Council has sought prices for additional safety devices (presence detectors) and to reconfigure the doors,” said Mr McGrath.
He said current contractual arrangements will be revisited “to establish what is possible for maintenance and cleaning with a view to agreeing standards in regard to safety, response times to repairs, holding of spare parts and procedures in regard to closing the toilets, regular reporting and meetings”.