ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Post-Brexit customs issues have been blamed for the fact that the entire street cleaning machine fleet for the city of Cork is currently out of action.

All three of Cork's mechanical street cleaning machines have developed faults and are off the road - one of them having been grounded for nearly four months. The council is awaiting spare parts from the UK to repair them.

Council leaders claim new UK customs systems following Brexit are resulting in spare repair parts being held up. President of the Cork Business Association Kevin Herlihy said the delays to the repairs were unacceptable, adding that a way needed be found to fix the machines as soon as possible before the tourist season starts in earnest.

"Several areas of pavement - particularly in the high-footfall and pedestrian areas - are looking tired and grubby," he said. "Surely we can find a way to get someone to collect the parts and bring them in? I'll go over myself and collect them if it means we can get the machines back on the road more quickly."

However, Herlihy praised the council for the fact that it has been deploying power-hose crews to carry out targeted deep-cleaning work in selected parts of the city centre in recent months.

According to a council spokesperson all three machines are out of operation due to "mechanical failure". One scrubbing and washing vehicle was parked up in early March when its front brushing mechanism stopped working, and it has remained out of action ever since.