South Dublin County Council should prepare for an increase in footfall in local parks by installing public toilets and overflow bins, according to David Gardiner, Workers’ Party representative for Palmerstown-Fonthill.

He said:

“As restrictions are planned to be eased over the summer, people are going to spend a lot of time outdoors, going for a picnic or a walk with friends. To facilitate this, South Dublin County Council should install public toilets and overflow bins in public parks.”

“Here in Palmerstown, for example, people might want to take advantage of the good weather by going for a walk or a picnic in Waterstown Park. The council should facilitate this by providing public toilets, as it would encourage people to get outside rather than meeting up with friends in their homes, where the virus is more likely to spread.”

“As well, we need overflow bins in council-owned parks to facilitate the increase in footfall that we’re likely to see over the summer months. There seems to have been an increase in litter in Waterstown Park already, and this would be a simple way of combating that.”