Hole in the Wall pub closed by FSAI due to holes in the walls

Pure irony.

Hole in the Wall, located on Blackhorse Avenue in Dublin 7, has been forced to close due to the presence of rat droppings. 

Europe’s longest pub, measuring 100m, was also found to have a number of holes in the walls. The FSAI found that this prevented the premises from being protected against contamination from pests.

“The food business operator failed to maintain the premises in a clean condition with a significant number of rodent droppings found also leading to a risk of contamination of food contact materials and packaging,” the FSAI said about the pub’s closure.

“The rooms used to hold Christmas decorations were inaccessible due to the level of black bags, in turn providing ample harbourage for pests."

Dried mouse droppings were found on the floor of the pub, next to bottles of coffee syrups and boxes of biscuits and crisps. The droppings were also found in a box containing a card machine, milk jug and syrup pumps.

Chief Executive of the FSAI, Greg Dempsey, said that the issues causing closure orders were “concerning.”

"We continue to see lapses in hygiene, cleaning and safe food handling practices, alongside evidence of pest activity in some food premises.

"These are fundamental requirements that every food business is legally obliged to meet,” he said, adding that “food safety management systems are not optional, they must be properly implemented, maintained and monitored in practice.”

"Where these basic standards are not met, there is a risk to public health and appropriate enforcement action will continue to be taken where necessary," he said.

A prefab food storage unit at a Mace newsagents on the Slane Road in Harmonstown, Navan, Co Meath, was also issued with a closure order as the ceiling was in disrepair and had subsequently fallen into the room.

Five other closure orders were served on food businesses across the country last month, including:

• Mace newsagents on the Slane Road in Harmonstown, Navan, Meath
• Jilly & Joe’s (Restaurant/Café), Dove Hill Centre, Ballynoran Carrick-on-Suir, Tipperary
• A table serving food (Retailer), Trading at Fairgreen Shopping Centre, Mullingar, Westmeath
• Shapla Indian Spice (Restaurant/Café), Hanover Court, Kennedy Avenue, Carlow
• Captain’s Catch (Takeaway), Parnell Street, Limerick

Chief Executive of the FSAI, Greg Dempsey, said the issues identified in a number of the closure orders were "concerning" and pointed to "clear failures in basic food safety controls".

"We continue to see lapses in hygiene, cleaning and safe food handling practices, alongside evidence of pest activity in some food premises.

These are fundamental requirements that every food business is legally obliged to meet. Food safety management systems are not optional; they must be properly implemented, maintained and monitored in practice."

He added that failures to meet basic food safety standards pose a risk to public health and will continue to be met with enforcement action where necessary.