Filthy public toilets

MT

One thing I can help but notice when driving down south is the state of public toilets. Now you may wonder what this has to do with transport, but with the NRA's revised policy of motorway service areas, is there going to be any real effort to keep these envisioned facilities in good order? We all have to go now and again and surely an integral part of any transport system in a rich country in the 21st century is a high standard of hygiene in rest areas etc.

Up here councils manage to do a pretty decent job of maintaining clean toilets but when heading south (no double meaning there!) standards often seem to fall through the floor. In fact, some toilets in the Republic should have health warnings attached to the door - they're disgusting. I've found myself in places where the urinal's blocked and overflowing, the toilet role dispensers empty and cubicle door locks have apparently been long left broken and unrepaired. Then there's almost anything you can think of splattered all over the place. As for soap in the soap dispensers, they're clearly ornamental when not completely busted. Some places even have blocked and overflowing sinks. Then there's the all pervasive smell.

What gives? How difficult can it be to regularly clean and stock a toilet? There seems to be no such difficulty up here, public lavatories here are usually spotless by comparison. Even worse down there are the often equally neglected privately owned toilets with public access in filling stations etc. I mean you can make excuses for negligent public servants but these are owned by private businesses - they've no excuse. I know if I operated a bar or filling station the last thing I'd want is a room or two that's litterally bogging. I stopped at a Spar I think it was in Monaghan once which contained a toilet in which all bowls, the urinal and nearly everthing else was almost overflowing with their various contents: appalling.

How can someone own, or even work, in a shop that selling food of all things while a room in the shop itself lies in such awfully unhygienic condition. Surely self-respect alone would dictate some attempt to keep toilets in a decent state - what does it say about the owner? That a ditch would be good enough?

Is it a cultural thing? Are people in the Republic just much less concerned about toilet hygene - will any old hole do? I mean you all have indoor toilets now - or do you?!;)

dmeehan

well lets all move north then, it sounds like paradise :rolleyes:

Bluetonic

I know we really should keep the place a bit cleaner for 'foreigners' like yourself :rolleyes:

Heinrich

There used to be a slogan in Val d'Isere:

"Cleaning is good, not dirtying is even better"

The toilets do not get vandalised automatically, filthy people do that

The urinals do not get blocked up automatically, filthy people do that...

Who would like to clean these filthy places for a living?

Garibaldi

OP has a point, though. The vast majority of public facilities that I've had to use in the past have been absolutely disgusting, with many having some part of the toilet itself broken off (handles, seats etc). And those are just the service station types. You'd need an NBC (Nuclear Biological Chemical...nothing to do with American broadcasting) suit when using a pub toilet. Breaking public facilities, in general, appears to be a close second to soccer in Irish sports activities.
And what's up with dmeehan and Blue? Have you not had this particular pleasure? Having done a few European tours, I can tell you that Irish public toilets are very much at the lower quality end.

John R

Garibaldi wrote:

I can tell you that Irish public toilets are very much at the lower quality end.

Could be because the Irish public are very much at the low quality end.

FFS I have worked in companies where toilets used by only a handful of people were regularly left in a disgusting state by some of the filthy pigs I was supposed to consider colleagues.

Garibaldi

Somebody sent me a link, a few years ago, to a site with a Hall of Shame for public toilets around Europe (probably fortunate that I can't remember the URL right now). Nine out of the top 10 were in Ireland.
I was at a big bike show held at some big horse racetrack in Limerick a coupla years ago. The show opened at 09:00. I'd been waiting around for a while to get in, so by about 09:30, it was time to use the facilities. Now, the show had only opened half an hour before, and the venue was far from full. Sadly, the same couldn't be said of the toilets. I have never seen such a grim sight in my life. **** piled so high that it actually formed a snowy peak above the bowl. That's right, not only had the toilets become blocked within that fateful half hour, but people had continued to use it to the extent that the old gag "I had to stand up to finish it" became the literal truth. Absolutely disgusting.

MT

That's right, not only had the toilets become blocked within that fateful half hour, but people had continued to use it to the extent that the old gag "I had to stand up to finish it" became the literal truth. Absolutely disgusting.

*Shudder* That pretty much describes the scenario I encountered in that place in Monaghan. It was quite clear that people had continued to use the bowl long after it had become blocked to the extent that it was about to overflow with sh!t. Animals. But what's worse is that as a smallish shop the place must have been left in that state for days. Even worse was the fact that the toilets, if I remember correctly, were just off from the bread counter: I certainly avoided buying chocolate doughnuts in there!

As for the urinal it had run over and spilled onto the floor - you had to tiptoe through piss, aaaagh! How unearth could the owner/employees stand around with a mess like that in their shop. Didn't they think it'd put people off? Wouldn't have liked to have seen the staff toilet.

But I think these experiences do no good whatsoever for the Irish tourist industry. They say that the two rooms that sell a house are the kitchen and the bathroom. And such a representation suits the tourist experience here. The cuisine has improved remarkably in recent years but the national bathroom (public toilets) is still an absolute disgrace.

In my experience, one of the most commented upon things by people up here returning from a holiday down south is the shocking state of toilet facilities. Guys - it leaves a seriously bad impression!! Can you imagine if you went around to a friends house and when using the loo found it was overflowing with sh!t, nothing worked in it and the place stank - what impression of them would you leave with.

As for a solution why doesn’t the government recognise this problem and tackle it head on. A delegation of TDs could travel up here on a working visit and be taken on a tour of public toilets. Here they could be shown how these are cleaned and maintained, allowing them to return to Dublin to put together a committee to draw up plans to retrain the nations bog cleaners. A Department of Hygiene and Cleanliness could be established – they could run public awareness adverts on the TV showing people how to use a toilet, etc. Maybe Michael McDowell could create a Garda Toilet Corps: a gard per cubicle would do wonders for a rise in standards.

Alright, putting bad jokes to one side how can such a persistent problem be tackled?

murphaph

John R wrote:

Could be because the Irish public are very much at the low quality end.

FFS I have worked in companies where toilets used by only a handful of people were regularly left in a disgusting state by some of the filthy pigs I was supposed to consider colleagues.

Same here. Absolute scumbags. I never use a public toilet and I never will, I'd rather sh!t in the woods tbh. It's the usual knuckle dragging morons who wreck the place every time-my local bus stop was burned down last night. I think people who destroy public property should be sterilised or something.

fly_agaric

MT wrote:

Is it a cultural thing? Are people in the Republic just much less concerned about toilet hygene - will any old hole do? I mean you all have indoor toilets now - or do you?!

Tis a cryin shame to be shur. Our masters the Britishers managed to beat the the lingo into us well enough that we could be understood most of the time but they could never get us to shít and píss like lords and ladies!

MT wrote:

There seems to be no such difficulty up here, public lavatories here are usually spotless by comparison.

Well thank the good Lord there are some civilised people on the Island of Ireland. Good man Sir - I salute ye.
I'm from Dublin myself and have heard of these "public toilets" but always associated them with foriegn climes. The city fathers think the bus stop (mind the arc) or a lamp-post or a shady wall is good enough for us. Maybe they are right!

mikemac

Agree completly with the OP.

Compare the toilets in Connolly Station (why so dark?) with Central Station in Belfast.

Come to think of the train stations in Limerick and Galway are worse than Connolly.
I wonder what tourists think.

Alun

micmclo wrote:

Compare the toilets in Connolly Station (why so dark?) with Central Station in Belfast.

It's the tasteful dim blue lighting apparently designed to stop the junkies shooting up in there (it means they can't see the veins to inject into).

Maskhadov

any pictures ?

jwt

It seems to be the smaller shops/shopping areas.

Liffey Valley, Blanchardstown, even Mullingar shopping centre (I say "even" due to the small size of it before anyone takes offense) all manage to keep good clean toilets.

Bad enough going in to manky toilets yourself, imagine having to take in your kids! You know how that one goes...."Daddy I have to wee, now." Get dragged by child clutching crotch and running bendy legged to toilets only to find urine everywhere, excrement on the toilet seat and one child deciding whether to pee or puke!

I now head for the disabled toilet everytime.:o

As for the UV lighting, kids love the way the toilet paper glows, arms looks all freckely and so forth.

John

MT

fly_agaric wrote:

Tis a cryin shame to be shur. Our masters the Britishers managed to beat the the lingo into us well enough that we could be understood most of the time but they could never get us to shít and píss like lords and ladies!

Yes, our good toilet training up here is clearly a result of centuries of British oppression. The Germans must have been oppressed by the Brits too as they also seem to have clean toilets...

I can see new wall murals going up in parts of Belfast: 'Brits out, sh!t in'
:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

fly_agaric wrote:

Well thank the good Lord there are some civilised people on the Island of Ireland. Good man Sir - I salute ye.
I'm from Dublin myself and have heard of these "public toilets" but always associated them with foriegn climes.

Is it not possible in the Ireland of the 21st century that we could ditch the mock peasant inverted snobbery and take a proper objective look at the real causes of our problems instead of resorting to slagging off the British?

What next? Will wiping your arse be damned as an act of deference to the Queen?

Murphaph wrote:

It's the usual knuckle dragging morons who wreck the place every time-my local bus stop was burned down last night.

But you get those scumbags in every country and yet many make a much better fist of public toilet upkeep. Sure look at NI: as a share of population we must have the greatest ratio of scumbags in Europe - what with our recent history - and somehow toilets can be kept in good order!

As for the junky/loitering problem - keep the toilets in good nick and more people will use them discouraging this element from congregating. Then lock them at night.

fly_agaric

MT wrote:

Yes, our good toilet training up here is clearly a result of centuries of British oppression. The Germans must have been oppressed by the Brits too as they also seem to have clean toilets...

I can see new wall murals going up in parts of Belfast: 'Brits out, sh!t in'

C'mon - don't act all shocked and rolleyesy - you must have expected a sarcastic reply like that at some point in this thread. Especially when you go on about our poor public toilet hygiene (be it the fault of users or maintainers) being cultural, contrast it unfavourably with that in NI, and add a cute little knowing wink at the end of your post.

MT wrote:

Is it not possible in the Ireland of the 21st century that we could ditch the mock peasant inverted snobbery and take a proper objective look at the real causes of our problems instead of resorting to slagging off the British?

But we already know all the answers as to why we are so filthy dirty don't we. As you said "it's a cultural thing" (covers a multitude). Anyway what is the essential cultural difference between Northern Ireland and the Republic that your public bogs are so nice and clean and ours (if the local authorities deign to provide them at all - see Dublin) are either wrecked by vandals or so rotten that it seems that animals rather than humans have been doing their business in them?

MT wrote:

What next? Will wiping your arse be damned as an act of deference to the Queen?

LOL. Maybe it's flushing, or actually puting your used(or unused?) toilet paper into the toilet pot that are seen as acts as deference to the Queen. It might explain why so few people seem to do this when they use any public toilet.

Garibaldi

Well, sure and thanks be ta God we have the likes of Agaric to defend our cultural honour. Or something.
Automated bogs, like in Japan, are the only way to effectively tackle the filth problem (I can hear the faintest rumblings of future SIPTU anger over *that* suggestion). As for breakages....who knows. Where does it all start? Just how do you tackle the problem of a population with no apparent sense of civic pride or duty? It seems that the only pride taken is in that of ensuring a good job's been done of destroying <insert public facility here>. From the lowliest bog handle, to emergency phones and everything in between (and around). Parents throwing kids a few slaps when they've clearly done wrong might be a good start on the road back to learning respect for others' property. (How many other issues can I pack into this one? )

MT

Fly_agaric, there is no such cultural difference as the one you describe: Northern Ireland being culturally British and the Republic not. NI is a patchwork quilt of areas that consider themselves Irish in outlook and others that consider themselves British. Irishness and Britishness do not meet at the border. And the thing is public toilets are keep in much better nick right across the north, in both Irish and British parts. So it has nothing to do with a culture clash between British and Irish values - as NI demonstrates.

Indeed, I live in a proudly nationalist area where public toilets and the like are always keep in comparitively sparkling condition. But it would be news to them indeed if you tried to inform the people here that they were British!

My comment on culture (half in jest I'll admit) was focused solely on the life in the Republic without the need to compare that to life in Britain/UK/NI. I never claimed that the Republic's bogs weren't clean because the country wanted to distinguish itself culturally from the UK - I just wondered if it was something intrinsic to the place itself. Much as in the same way you could claim that the Spanish are into bull-fighting not because the French aren't but because they enjoy it for what it is without the need for reference to the pastimes undertaken in their larger neighbour.

Now, can someone just translate what I've just written into English.

TempestSabre

Have to agree with the original poster. The state of facilities in this country is appalling. Its not just on the roads either. Pubs are absymal too. Cinema's etc. Only place that are decent are good hotels and new shopping centers etc. wtf is wrong with people? Hate to see the state of their own houses. Personally I think it because facilities don't make money. No ones interested in anything that doesn't make a fast buck. There no concept of providing a service in this country. That theme runs across the all sectors.

fly_agaric

MT wrote:

Fly_agaric, there is no such cultural difference as the one you describe: Northern Ireland being culturally British and the Republic not. NI is a patchwork quilt of areas that consider themselves Irish in outlook and others that consider themselves British. Irishness and Britishness do not meet at the border.

Now we are getting somewhere, I think.:D The political authorities and systems of government do meet at the border however.

MT wrote:

My comment on culture (half in jest I'll admit) was focused solely on the life in the Republic without the need to compare that to life in Britain/UK/NI.

Now, now - you did compare the state of our public toilets (especially garage/roadside ones - the transport forum) - and toilets are a very important guide to the wider culture of a nation (not just its faecal coliforms).

MT wrote:

I never claimed that the Republic's bogs weren't clean because the country wanted to distinguish itself culturally from the UK - I just wondered if it was something intrinsic to the place itself. Much as in the same way you could claim that the Spanish are into bull-fighting not because the French aren't but because they enjoy it for what it is without the need for reference to the pastimes undertaken in their larger neighbour.

As I said, you highlighted it as a point of difference between NI and the South which are politically parts of different nation states, run under different systems of government. You invited the comparison.

If I were forced to give a reason for this public toilet difference I'd say it is a general lack of civic pride and responsibility. I know you get scumbags everywhere, but the general attitude is what I have in mind here. People in Ireland (IMO) generaly have less respect for public spaces than you see in some other countries I can think of and don't feel responsible for them. Sure the corpo or the council will sort it out! Except the Corpo/council/other authorities are part of the same "culture" and often don't really give a monkeys either as regards fixing the problem or (very important) enforcing their own rules.
Maybe it is something that comes top-down from the way NI is run and the standard of public toilets there will deteriorate markedly if the local executive ever gets any power.:)

I don't think it is down to a difference in hygeine standards as people often manage to ensure their own toilet is kept immaculately and yet act like a total pig when they use a public convenience.

MT wrote:

Now, can someone just translate what I've just written into English.

TempestSabre

I always wondered was some sort of hang over from years where the authorities were the British?

bungeecork

You guys ever seen "Train Spotting"?

Some are good, some are bad. Just feel sorry for people with certain conditions that mean they have to wee regularly. I know someone in Australia who cant go on a long journey without considering the logistic - if you know what I mean.

Anyway - that's what McDonalds is for - is't it?

Garibaldi

Jerry's Final Thought:

So, ironically enough, it's a case of no-one giving a sh!t.