Toilets costing €500,000 to maintain yield just €300 in income

It is costing more than a half a million euro to maintain two public loos in County Galway that are bringing in revenue to the tune of a paltry €300 per annum.
The contract that Galway County Council has entered into will result in them paying a private company €550,000 to maintain the public toilets in both Tuam and Loughrea.
At 50 cent a go, the toilets are rarely used. In fact, one of them trapped a user inside and the emergency services had to be called to release this woman.
It has been described as flushing money down the toilet by a local councillor who has now asked for the maintenance contract to be terminated.
But it seems as if Galway County Council are tied into the contract that will cost them well over half a million euro before it can be ended.
The contract for the maintenance of the two automated loos in Vicar Street in Tuam, and in the Fairgreen in Loughrea, has been awarded to a private company.
The company was paid nearly €60,000 last year to take charge of the two facilities, which are the most expensive in the county to run. The self-flushing units are cleaned on a daily basis.
But, by the time the contract expires, Galway County Council will have forked out €550,000 for the maintenance of the public toilets that bring in such little revenue.
Tuam councillor Shaun Cunniffe told the Connacht Tribune that the pay-per-use toilets were one of the greatest wastes of money in the county. He has called for them to be closed down and the contract terminated.
“We could be putting this money into something useful like town enhancement projects,” Cllr. Cunniffe added.