Facilities going down the toilet

The month of May has been kind to all who like good weather, and last Friday in particular was a scorcher.

I visited Donabate to enjoy its beautiful beach, Balcarrick. There were many hundreds of people there, mostly parents with young children.

During May, I have visited Balcarrick beach on at least eight occasions. On Friday, I attempted to use the public toilets at the entrance to the beach. Both the ladies and gents had shutters locked to the ground.

It was obvious that they had been closed for quite a while, due to the debris gathered at the entrance.

I contacted the Fingal office in Swords and was informed by the operations manager that the toilets are opened each year on June 3, so is it any wonder that there are warnings about pollution in Loughshinney, Portrane and Donabate, when thousands who used the beaches in those areas in May were denied proper toilet facilities, leaving those in need to use wherever they could find, either on the beach or in the sea? It might be a good idea if Leo Varadkar got some of his early risers to cycle out and man the loos.

There is, of course, another solution to this problem – close all the beaches until June 3 each year.

Do I hear some fearless minister shouting “if you elect me as your leader, I’ll open up all the toilets for everyone, even those on social welfare”? Fred Molloy Clonsilla, Dublin 15