I Knew This Country Was Expensive but Geez...

300,000 Euros for Loo with a View
Wed Aug 2, 2006 1:47 PM BST

DUBLIN (Reuters) - A ramshackle public toilet could fetch 300,000 euros (205,000 pounds) -- the price of a new house -- if politicians in western Ireland get their way.

The town of Lahinch reckons property-hungry buyers will snap up the dilapidated, out-of-order loo because of its great location -- a surfing beach on Ireland's rugged Atlantic coast.

"You could leave the toilet block and be in the sea in less than 40 seconds," local politician Martin Conway told Reuters, but admitted: "It's quite remarkable that an old toilet block would fetch 300,000 euros".

The average cost of a home in Ireland, where house prices have gone up 15 percent in the past year, is 299,929 euros. (400k in Dublin)

Local property auctioneer Nicola Leyden said the site, overlooking Ireland's best known surfing spot, was breathtaking: "It's probably the most sought after pee you'll ever take on the west coast of Ireland".