Kildare TD calls for 'no wait' card for public toilet use
People living with conditions such as Crohn’s disease, colitis and spinal injuries can experience sudden and urgent need to use a toilet, making everyday activities challenging
A BILL aimed at improving access to toilet facilities for people with chronic and invisible illnesses has been brought before the Dáil by South Kildare TD Mark Wall.
The proposed legislation, the Equal Status (Access to Toilet Facilities) Bill 2026, would place so-called “No Wait Cards” on a “statutory footing”, giving people with medical conditions that require urgent access to a toilet the right to use staff toilet facilities in shops and businesses where no public toilets are available.
People living with conditions such as Crohn’s disease, colitis and spinal injuries can experience sudden and urgent need to use a toilet, making everyday activities challenging.
Advocacy groups including Crohn’s & Colitis Ireland and Spinal Injuries Ireland currently issue No Wait Cards to help individuals request access to facilities in emergency situations. However, the cards do not currently have any legal standing.
Under the Bill, businesses with staff toilet facilities would be required to make them available to a person in urgent need who presents a No Wait Card. The legislation also seeks to address concerns previously raised by businesses around liability, by excluding them from Section 5 of the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1995. It specifies that businesses would not be required to make any adaptations or incur costs to modify staff toilets.
Speaking in the Dáil, Deputy Wall said the measure is intended as a compassionate and practical response to the lived realities of people with chronic medical conditions.
“Fundamentally, it is about recognising the lived realities of people with chronic medical conditions. It’s about creating a caring republic. It could be life changing for so many people,” said Deputy Wall.
