Sir, – In his eagerness to castigate The Irish Timesfor "sanctimonious editorials" and tell the paper how to go about its business (August 17th) Labour Party councillor Dermot Lacey may have forgotten his own party is in Government with Fine Gael. So if he asks Eamon Gilmore to have a word with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, then perhaps the question of the provision of public toilet facilities may be investigated and resolved. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Seán Ó Riain’s account of public conveniences and their uses in Gozo sounds idyllic (August 17th). But how many drugtakers and undesirables do the good people of Gozo have to suffer? Public toilets in Dublin will become like the boardwalks along the city’s quays, a haven for junkies looking for somewhere to shoot-up and off-limits to ordinary citizens and tourists
There were public toilets on O’Connell Street and at Burgh Quay previously and they were constantly surrounded by dealers and junkies. Before we have a debate on the merits of public loos, let’s tackle the increasing problem of open and highly visible drug-taking in Dublin city centre. – Yours, etc,