10-07-2025
Crèche and canteen shut at RTÉ as rodent droppings found
RTÉ's crèche was ordered to close its kitchen and canteen due to a 'significant number of rodent droppings'.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) reported yesterday that eight closure orders were issued last month. Among these was Wee Care Limited at Donnybrook, a facility provided by RTÉ that cares for children of staff working at the broadcaster.
An inspection by the FSAI on June 25 found the kitchen on the premises had failed to comply with the provisions of EC Regulation on the Hygiene of Foodstuffs. Pic: Shutterstock
Following this, the crèche was ordered by the FSAI to close its kitchen and the canteen used by staff on the premises due to what the inspector called 'a grave and immediate danger to food safety due to rodent activity'.
The inspection found that droppings were present on the floor behind and under two fridges, a freezer and an oven. It also discovered more droppings behind and underneath a fridge in a canteen area.
The inspector wrote that 'a lack of cleaning is evident in the premises', saying: 'Rodent droppings have not been cleaned up and the affected areas have not been disinfected.' The inspection further found that 'adequate procedures are not in place to control pests in the premises'. The national broadcaster has spent €5,400 on pest checks and inspections over the past 12 months in its sprawling Dublin 4 complex. Pic: Fran Veale
The closure order was lifted two days later after pest control was contacted to address the problems found in the initial inspection. A staff member at RTÉ told 'It shouldn't be too much to ask for our kids to be protected from rat droppings. It should be the bare minimum.'
They went on to say the broadcaster needs to take responsibility, saying they 'should be doing more to reassure us as parents instead of washing their hands of it and point the finger at the contractors who run it'.
The inspector who visited the crèche warned that 'rodents can transmit harmful pathogens to foodstuffs, food contact surfaces, equipment and packaging through droppings and urine'. The closure comes during an ongoing battle against rodents at RTÉ headquarters. Pic: Getty Images
It was reported in early June that RTÉ had spent €5,400 on checks and inspections over the past year to ensure the campus was vermin-free.
Last December, it came to light that after the sighting of a mouse at the Wee Care crèche, extermination services had been called to deal with the issue. This process proved unsuccessful after it was reported in February that mouse droppings had been found in the kitchen of the crèche.
That same day, a dead mouse was removed from the second floor of the main RTÉ building. This was followed by reports of rats and mice sighted in the main canteen, the wardrobe department and on the set of Fair City.
Two Radar mouse traps were bought as a precaution, and RTÉ later said that it had an ongoing contract for areas where rodent activity was suspected.
FSAI chief Greg Dempsey said: 'Food safety isn't optional, it's essential. Non-compliance with food law is not tolerated.'
Closure orders were issued to Doolin Ice Cream in Co. Clare, All Bar Chicken in Coolock, Co. Dublin, and Il Vicolo in Galway.
