Call for changing toilets in Co Carlow in next year’s budget

COUNCILLOR Brian O’Donoghue asked the executives in Carlow Co Council that provision be made for a changing places toilet in Carlow town in next year’s budget.

A changing places toilet is an accessible sanitary facility with a toilet, hoist, washbasin, adult-sized changing bench and optional shower with adequate space for use by persons with a range of disabilities who may require assistance.

Cllr O’Donoghue said it would, ideally, be installed in a council-owned property, such as a vacant shop unit in the town centre.

“In a lot of cases, especially in a day care setting, you could have 15 people on a bus and if a person needs to change or be changed, a lot of time you would have to get most of the group back on the bus and go back to the facility. It’s not right that that would happen. I don’t think they’re massively expensive installations and it would be very beneficial for all people in the county,” said cllr O’Donoghue.

Cllr John Cassin echoed cllr O’Donoghue’s statement.

The CEO, Coilín O’Reilly, said he was aware of the toilets and priced them between €70,000 and €150,000 to install, but said of the financing: “As always with these things, it’s never the capital cost, it is the operational cost to keep it staffed and the multi-annual thing of it is where the problem actually starts.

“We aren’t in budget discussions yet. There is no magic money tree – we have to make choices with the money that we have,” added Mr O’Reilly.