The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today reported that ten Enforcement Orders, in total, were served on Irish food businesses during the month of November; all for breaches of food safety legislation, pursuant to the FSAI Act, 1998 and European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020. The Enforcement Orders were issued by both Environmental Health Officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE) and by veterinary inspectors in Louth County Council.
One Prohibition Order was served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on Mr David o’Brien, The Bakehouse (bakery), No. 7 Main Street, Cashel, Co Tipperary.
Reason for making of order:
Inadequate temperature control measures for high risk foods.
Uncertainty of conditions under which the food was produced and stored.
Other Closure Orders
A further six Closure Orders were served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on premises in counties Kerry, Cork, Louth, Dublin, Kilkenny and Sligo.
Three Closure Orders were also served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on two premises in Co. Limerick and one in Co. Meath.
FullDetails of the food businesses served with Enforcement Orders are published on the FSAI’s website HERE.
Some of the reasons for the Enforcement Orders in November include: evidence that people were living and sleeping in the food preparation area; dead mice found in the ingredient storage area which is a part of the food production area, along with numerous mice droppings on shelving; ongoing cockroach infestation in the kitchen, storage areas and on the shop floor; large food storage containers found to be covered in food debris, dirt and cobwebs; evidence of mould and mildew on a chip storage container and on the chip scoops; inadequate temperature control measures in place for high-risk foods; no evidence to demonstrate that the food business operator was trained in food safety, with no evidence of a food safety management system; heavy deposits of mouse droppings behind the fridge, freezer, in the main food preparation area and in the dry goods store; evidence that food infested by rodent droppings was placed on the market; an establishment operating as a meat cutting plant, also producing meat preparations and meat products, without approval from the competent authority.
Commenting, Dr Pamela Byrne, (Chief Executive, FSAI), emphasised the need for all food businesses to take responsibility and commit to their legal obligation to comply with food law, ensuring that there is a strong food safety culture in their business.
“Food law requires all food businesses to be notified to the relevant competent authority prior to operating. This requirement ensures that food businesses will be registered and/or approved with the appropriate inspection agency to ensure food safety and protect consumer health. Every food business must have a food safety management system in place to protect consumers’ health and prevent instances, such as those seen in the Enforcement Orders in November. Each business must also have a positive food safety culture embedded within it. Failure to comply with basic food safety legal requirements is not only a potential risk to public health, but also a risk to the food business’s reputation if things go wrong. Several of the Enforcement Orders in November also detail problems with pest infestations. These must be prevented by always having robust pest control systems in place, but especially during these colder winter months.” said Dr Byrne.
AllClosure Orders and Improvement Orders will remain listed in the enforcement reports on the FSAI website for a period of three months from the date of when a premises is adjudged to have corrected its food safety issue, with Prohibition Orders being listed for a period of one month from the date the Order was lifted.
It has become perfectly obvious that urban city planning ideas are now being mandatory enforced on rural, agricultural towns like Thurles, Co. Tipperary with disastrous consequences, forcing trading retail businesses to either close or fold their tents to move elsewhere.
Anyone who visited Dublin City recently will know that only public transport, cyclists and pedestrians can now get into and around its increasingly menacing streets, with any degree of efficiently.
The busy prosperous Liberty Square of the 1960’s.
That is all well and good in Dublin with its network of buses, trams and taxis. Here in rural Thurles such public transport is very limited. There isn’t a Dart tram line to be found running from rural Upperchurch or indeed Two-mile-Borris or Littleton villages every 15 minutes. Indeed there is not one single bus shelter to be found in Thurles, to protect a prospective bus passenger from our inclement weather.
For those who wish to view what exactly will be forced on the residents and businesses of this once prosperous midland town, take a look here: N62-Slievenamon-Road-Phase-2.pdf
NOTE Page 6 of the above pdf: “Some of the key interventions that this strategy will deliver include significant investment in the provision of safe, segregated infrastructure to protect those walking and cycling on our roads, and initiatives to promote modal shift from motor vehicle travel to support environmental, safety and health objectives.”
The picturesque Liberty Square, midday in 2023, asks a Question: Where are the town centre consumers; where are the cyclists; the walker, and the vehicle parking spaces. Answer: Driven out with the businesses. Gone to support German international discount retailers on the outskirts of Thurles, who offer very little local employment, while selling a considerable amount of German processed produce.
See also what is planned in the Draft Discussion maps for Slievenamon Road, shown here: N62-Slievenamon-Road-Map.pdf.
Question: Where are the Cycle Paths either on a half upgraded Liberty Square, town centre or on this newly designed, still to be revamped, Slievenamon Road plan? Answer: Non existent.
This October 2022 plan will most certainly drive home that final nail in our town centre’s coffin. However, the local electorate, (now remaining surprisingly silent), can express their anger, during local elections, expected to be held possible next March.
A Recruitment Competition launched for CEO designate of New Policing & Community Safety Authority (An tÚdarás Póilíneachta agus Sábháilteachta Pobail) has been launched today.
A competition has been launched to recruit a Chief Executive Officer designate for the forthcoming new agency – An tÚdarás Póilíneachta agus Sábháilteachta Pobail, the Policing and Community Safety Authority (PCSA), latter which will be established following the enactment of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill, which is currently before the Seanad.
The competition has been launched by the Public Appointments Service, with the deadline for applications to close at 3:00pm, on Thursday, November 16th, 2023.
Once established, the PCSA will consolidate and enhance the broad-ranging oversight functions of the existing Policing Authority and the expert inspection functions of the Garda Síochána Inspectorate into a new body. This is a key step toward a more cohesive and effective framework for the independent oversight of An Garda Síochána and to help in building stronger, safe communities.
The establishment of the PCSA is one important element of the broad overall suite of changes being delivered under the Policing, Security and Community Bill 2023.
A comprehensive implementation programme is running in parallel with the passage of the Bill, to ensure that the new structures and provisions can be established as soon as possible, following enactment.
The key role of the PCSA will be to review and assess the performance of An Garda Síochána and to promote the continuous improvement of An Garda Síochána in delivering on their mission of ‘Keeping People Safe’. The independent body will benefit from an expert, in-house inspection function, which will have robust inspection powers, including the power to conduct unannounced visits of Garda premises.
The PCSA will also promote inter-agency collaboration and community engagement to improve community safety, including through oversight of Garda cooperation and collaboration with other relevant agencies. This is in line with the policy underpinning the Bill that improving and maintaining community safety is not only the responsibility of An Garda Síochána, but requires a whole-of-Government and cross-society approach.
The PCSA will also continue to fulfil the important public awareness and engagement role of the current Policing Authority, including through regular public meetings with the Garda Commissioner and his senior leadership team.
A promised strike by some 5,000 community healthcare staff and social care workers from 19 organisations has been averted, following an 8% pay offer made, after long drawn out talks, late last night.
Strike Action By Health & Community Care Workers Averted.
Workers at Daughters Of Charity Child and Family Service, DePaul Ireland, Ardeen Cheshire Ireland, Ability West, Co-action West Cork, Cobh Hospital, Don Bosco Care and Enable Ireland, Family Resource Centres, the Irish Wheelchair Association, Kerry Parents and Friends, St Catherine’s Association, St Joseph’s Foundation, St Luke’s Nursing Home, and the Western Care Association were all due to hold future stoppages.
Talks between the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, the Department of Health and the ICTU group of unions, have now agreed to recommend that the new pay offer be accepted, same having been brokered at the Workplace Relations Commission.
The new deal will include a 3% pay rise backdated to April 1st 2023; another 2% on November 1st 2023 and a further 3% on March 1st also this year.
Further discussions on a key demand to link pay to public servant’s wages are also proposed as part of this agreement, with the government acknowledging that workers pay in section 39, section 56 and section 10 organisations had fallen behind equivalent and comparable grades in public service organisations.
The Workplace Relations Commission will now convene the parties, to the agreement, before December 1st, 2023
The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee TD, has welcomed the attestation of a further 126 members of An Garda Síochána at the Garda College, Templemore, Co. Tipperary today.
The newly attested Garda members have now completed their training and will be assigned to Garda Divisions throughout the country.
Of the 126 attesting today, 91 are men; 35 are women and 5 were born outside of the Irish State.
Speaking at the event today Minister Of Justice Mrs Helen McEntee said: “I want to congratulate the recruits passing out in Templemore today and wish them all the best in their future careers. Their commitment to public service and building stronger, safer communities is something to be commended and which we are all grateful for.”
Minister McEntee and the Garda Commissioner Mr Drew Harris announced, at the attestation today, that the age limit for joining An Garda Síochána is to increase from 35 to 50.
Minister McEntee stated further, that she and Commissioner Drew Harris both believe that the age should be changed in advance of the next Garda recruitment campaign, in order to give as many people as possible the opportunity to apply to An Garda Síochána. The entry age limit of 35 has been in place since 2004, when it was increased from a limit 26 years of age. A new age limit of 50 is being chosen to widen the opportunity to join An Garda Síochána, but to also ensure there is an appropriate period of time, between someone potentially entering at 50 and retiring ten years later. As part of the budget package for An Garda Síochána announced earlier this week, they have also provided for a 66% increase in the Garda training allowance to €305.
The retirement age is currently set at 60, but Minister McEntee has also held discussions with Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe on this issue. The change to the entry age can only be made by way of regulation following approval by the Cabinet, and Minister McEntee will bring proposals to Government shortly. The announcement comes at a time when Garda recruitment is accelerating following a Covid enforced pause, during which the Garda College in Templemore was closed.
Minister McEntee concluded by stating: “I am delighted that Garda recruitment, both in terms of Garda members and Garda staff, is gaining significant momentum after the Covid-enforced pause. Another class will enter the College on Monday, another in December, and we have provided funding for the recruitment of between 800 and 1000 new Gardaí in 2024. One of my key priorities as Minister for Justice is to build safer and stronger communities by reducing and preventing crime, continually working to enhance national security and transforming and strengthening An Garda Síochána. I am committed to ensuring they have the resources they need, as reflected in the unprecedented budgets over the last 3 years, now reaching €2.3billion for 2024, a 23% increase on 2020. We are not only investing in recruitment, but in a range of other supports too – we are ensuring better protections for Gardaí, through the introduction of body worn cameras and stronger penalties for assaults on frontline workers; we are supporting the Commissioner to modernise ICT to improve efficiencies in the organisation; increasing the number of Garda staff to free Gardaí up for frontline duties; and the recruitment of a Reserve class for the first time since 2017 next year. Another priority for me is delivering on the reforms recommended by the Commission on the Future of Policing through the enactment and commencement of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill which will strengthen the governance and oversight of An Garda Síochána, and will enhance the safety of our communities through greater collaboration between a range of public service bodies, not just An Garda Síochána. I truly believe that the new recruits are joining the organisation at a time of massive opportunity both for them and for the organisation – they are joining a police service that is continually developing to ensure it is world-class, and we are giving them every support to ensure they can achieve that.”
Recent Comments