Extra staff and equipment in a bid to keep Cork's streets clean

Confirmation of the additional street cleaning resources came this month on foot of a motion from Fine Gael councillor Shane O’Callaghan, who called for the introduction of more frequent and more regular deep cleaning operations across high-profile city centre areas.

In response, officials said the city council currently operates a cleaning service in the city centre utilising a street scrubber and a power washer unit, both of which operate daily in the city centre area.

“Cork City Council also carries out a deep cleaning programme each spring which involves contractors working through the night cleaning pavements in the city centre area," he was told.

“In addition, we have recently been granted approval for the purchase of a new specialised power washing unit, with two new staff, which we expect to be operational in February 2025.

“The cleansing section is constantly exploring new systems and new ways of optimising their staff and equipment to carry out more deep cleaning within available resources and cleansing staff have been in contact with other local authorities looking at alternative options.” 

It is hoped the new equipment and staff will have an impact on the visual appearance of the city ahead of the busy summer months.

The council was heavily criticised across summer 2023 for the grubby appearance of many pavements in the city.

It came at a time when the council’s entire fleet of three city centre mechanical street-cleaning machines had broken down.

At the time, City Hall insisted the breakdown of all three cleaning vehicles had not affected the condition of the streets, and it blamed the staining and discolouration of the city’s granite paving on drinks spillages, which it said had become very visible during summer dry spells.

“Staining and discolouration is not a natural phenomenon," it said.

“It only occurs when a person spills their alcoholic drink, fizzy drink, food, other beverages onto the public pavement.

It is very important to understand that personal responsibility is key to keeping Cork City’s streets clear of staining and discolouration.

“The key issue, which occurs every summer during dry spells, is the increased visibility of staining on the granite pavement which would normally not be as pronounced during wet weather.

“The recent spell of good weather has highlighted the staining due to spillages on the city streets.”