Newpubliclooswill havepipedmusic

January 1987

Getting the best for Co. Wexford but also getting the best for business and job creation. That’s the double that has been pulled off for the county through astute co-ordination between local authorities and private business.

Wexford is to be the first county in Ireland to have continental-style automated public toilets. But, in addition, the county has also captured the sole agency for the sale and maintenance of the ‘ in demand’ public conveniences, through the Wallace-Howlin group of companies in Wellingtonbridge.

On Monday, Wexford Co. Council sanctioned the purchase of five of the £30,000 ‘Rolls Royce’ public toilets. They are to go in Wexford, New Ross, Enniscorthy, Gorey, and Rosslare Harbour.

The drive to be the first county in the country to have the toilets – Dublin and other major local authorities have been making intensive inquiries – is an integral part of the push to polish up the image of the county.

The continental-style automated toilets which operate ever day of the year and right around the clock will advance Wexford right into front ranking for development and also lead the fightback against the ‘unhygienic’ smears levelled by tourists and backed up by our tourism authorities.

Likely to appear in the coming months around Wexford’s main towns and the Rosslare Harbour gateway for one million tourists each year, what’s so special about the public toilets originated fifteen years ago by the French corporation, J.C. Decaux?

The advances on the conventional ‘ hidden from public view’ toilets that have been in use up to now are mind-boggling:

- Weight sensor floors detect when a person has entered, switching on warm soapy water immediately in a wash basin, and also turning on piped music

- When the individual user has left, the entire unit – floor, toilet bowl, wash basin, etc. – automatically tilt backwards and all are thoroughly cleansed and disinfected, then dried in 40 seconds, and returned to their position

- The entrance door automatically opens after 17 minutes (with a three-minute warning given!), in case a user gets into difficulties

- The automatic toilets can be used by approximately 70 per cent of disabled people

- The entrance fee of 10p can be paid with a single coin or a combination of smaller coins. It is estimated that each toilet should bring in £1,000 to £1,500 per year.

- Each unit is equipped with a phone to report faults, and the high-tech toilets also have an inbuilt fault reporting system to a central unit.

Meanwhile, the walls of the loos are coated with a covering which means graffitti can easily be wiped off with a cloth, and the units themselves come in a choice of four colours, to blend in with any streetscape.

It all promises to be a whole new high-tech era in terms of how Co. Wexford people ‘spend a penny’ in the years head.