Public toilets at 8 outdoor locations in Dún Laoghaire will be closed for the entire weekend.
Local Councillors in the area received an email from the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council on Friday evening, advising them of the closures.
The affected locations include parks such as People's Park, Marlay, Cabinteely, and Shanganagh Park.
Several beaches will also be without toilet facilities this weekend, including Killiney, Seapoint, Sandycove, and Whiterock
No explanation was provided initially, however, a follow-up email sent this morning explained that there were staffing issues.
Local Councillor Osin O'Connor believes there should have been a contingency plan in place:
"What needs to be discussed and figured out between councillors and management, is how this happened? How can we make sure something like this doesn't happen again? Because it's a fantastic weekend out there. We have excellent parks and coastal facilities. A lot of people come here, and we need to make sure our facilities are accessible to everybody".
Meanwhile, fellow Dun Laoghaire councillor Justin Moylan says the toilets should have remained open, even if there was no one to clean them:
"If it is an issue with someone coming in and cleaning the toilets on a regular basis throughout the weekend, which is required and necessary. It that service is unable to be provided than the question is should we have opened them and taken the chance that the toilets may not be as clean? Better a toilet that isn't perfectly clean than no toilet at all".
