Health « Thurles Information

Plan On Domestic, Sexual & Gender-Based Violence Launched.

Final Implementation Plan For Zero Tolerance Strategy On Domestic, Sexual & Gender-Based Violence Published.

Priority areas include expanding refuge accommodation, advancing legislative reform, and cross-sectoral training initiatives for frontline professionals.
There are 95 actions in total across the strategy’s four pillars of protection, prevention, prosecution and policy co-ordination.
A robust monitoring and reporting framework establishes performance indicators to track progress and understand impact.

A targeted implementation plan for the final phase of Zero Tolerance, the Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (DSGBV) has been published.

The implementation plan contains 95 actions across the strategy’s four pillars of Protection, Prevention, Prosecution and Policy Co-ordination, with a strong focus on delivery and collective action to 2026.

The DSGBV Agency Cuan worked in collaboration with officials from the Department of Justice and in close consultation with other Government Departments, state agencies and external stakeholders to develop the plan for 2025-2026.

Priority areas include continuing national leadership and cross government alignment, expanding refuge accommodation, delivering a comprehensive national emergency domestic violence accommodation plan, and advancing legislative reform. That legislative reform includes removing the guardianship rights of a person who has been convicted of killing their intimate partner; developing a mechanism to ensure any person in an intimate relationship can be informed if their partner has a history of domestic violence; and advancing provisions to ensure counselling records are only released where the Court decides that they contain material relevant to legal proceedings.

The plan also includes actions to continue to deliver impactful awareness campaigns on sexual consent and pathways to safety, and a comprehensive set of training actions to upskill front-line professionals across the health and social care sector, DSGBV services, the judiciary, courts and other justice agencies.

The development of the plan was collaborative and evidence informed, involving research and a review of implementation to date, followed by in-depth consultations with Government departments and state agencies. It takes an intersectional approach, ensuring that actions and outcomes are responsive to the diverse and overlapping identities of victims and survivors of DSGBV, supported by the development and establishment of survivor-centred structures to ensure that victim/survivor voice is heard. The work to develop foundational structures, build networks and relationships lays the groundwork for beginning the transition to a Fourth National Strategy on DSGBV.

Also published today is the second 2024 Progress Report, covering the period July to December 2024, which highlights continued progress across government and the sector in implementing the Zero Tolerance strategy.

Notable achievements during the reporting period include:

Expanding emergency accommodation capacity including launch of a state-of-the-art refuge facility in Wexford and strengthening the pipeline for refuge and safe home expansion.
Reform of the Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) Curriculum to empower students to be healthy and resilient young adults who have the skills and confidence to nurture healthy relationships.
Expansion of services for children and young people experiencing domestic or sexual violence, with €17m in funding distributed to 60 services supporting children and young people.
Enactment of the Family Courts Act 2024 providing for the establishment of family court divisions within the existing court structures including a Family High Court, a Family Circuit Court and a Family District Court.
Supporting the Game Changer campaign, a three-year initiative led by Ruhama, in partnership with the GAA and the Men’s Development Network, using sports-based advocacy to raise awareness of gender-based violence.
Convening of a National Consent Forum.
Engagement with the Central Statistics Office (CSO) to scope the development of a Domestic Violence survey to commence in 2025.

The 2025–2026 implementation plan and the Second Progress Report (2024) are available at: https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/Zero_Tolerance_Implementation_Plan_2025-2026.pdf.

Safe Surgery Practice Failures In Medical Records At Tipperary University Hospital.

According to an internal inspection, undertaken by HSE auditors, on emergency, elective and day procedures at Tipperary University Hospital (TUH); a listing used to ensure HSE safe surgery is being followed, was not located in healthcare records. The failure was discovered following a random sample, taken of 15 patients, latter who had undergone surgical procedures at TUH, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, just last year.

The HSE audit report revealed that it could only provide limited assurance regarding the adequacy and effective governance relating to risk management and the internal control system, at the hospital, when it came to HSE strict policy on safe surgery.

HSE auditors had carried out a retrospective random sample on healthcare records of 15 patients out of a total of 96. Same had undergone surgery or an endoscopy at TUH, over a seven-day period in July 2024. Same audit was undertaken to check that planned surgery was clearly documented and that consent was obtained and recorded for each surgical procedure.

While, TUH had amalgamated aspects of the required checklist into its care plans, latter recommended in the HSE’s National Policy and Procedure for Safe Surgery; the audit found that the HSE’s actual checklist was not found in any medical records reviewed, in relation to the auditors random sample of 15 procedures which had been carried out on site within the hospital.

The report stated that there was a risk that variances between the hospital’s care plans and the official checklist “may result in sub-optimal implementation” of the HSE’s policy on safe surgery “with potential adverse consequences for patients.“

Among questions on the checklist which were not included in the HSE’s recommended care plan were:
(A) If the procedure had been confirmed with a parent or guardian in the case of children and if prophylactic antibiotics were required.
(B) Failure to check if a healthcare record number matched the number on the patient’s wristband or if protocols were in place if the patient suffered unexpected blood loss.
(C) TUH included some questions that were completed after an anaesthetic was administered, which should have been carried out beforehand under the rules as set out in the HSE checklist.
(D)TUH was unable to provide records about the number of medical staff who had completed a mandatory course on safe surgery.

The audit further concluded that recommended pre-surgery briefings among medical staff at TUH Clonmel, resembled “nursing huddles” as opposed to multidisciplinary briefings, of which not all members of the theatre team were found to be present at such meetings. The report also noted that non-attendance of key members could result in critical information not being properly transferred, thus resulting in potential harm to patients.

The HSE auditors issued a total of four recommendations, including that all components of the HSE’s checklist for safe surgery be incorporated into the relevant care plans at TUH, or, alternatively that the checklist be adopted as a standalone document by the hospital.

TUH management have now agreed to the implementation of all the recommendations conveyed by the HSE audit.

Undeclared Almonds In Mispacked Dunnes Stores Luxury Apple Pie.

FSAI warn of undeclared almonds in a batch of mispacked Dunnes Stores Luxury Apple Pie

Alert Summary dated Monday, 16th June 2025.

Allergy Alert Notification: 2025.A23
Allergen: Nuts
Product Identification: Dunnes Stores Luxury Apple Pie; pack size: 750g
Batch Code: 242; best before date: 16/06/2025
Country Of Origin: Ireland

Message: The above batch of Dunnes Stores Luxury Apple Pie is being recalled as some packs have been mispacked with Dunnes Stores Luxury Pear and Almond Pie. The product contains almonds which are not declared on the label. This may make the batch unsafe for consumers who are allergic to or intolerant of almonds, and therefore, these consumers should not eat the implicated batch.

Possible Presence Of Glass In Weleda Baby Teething Powder.

FSAI Recall Batch Of Weleda Baby Teething Powder Due To Possible Presence Of Glass Pieces.

Alert Summary dated Thursday, 12 June 2025.

Category 1: For Action
Alert Notification: 2025.26
Product Identification: Weleda Baby Teething Powder, pack size: 60g
Batch Code: 231302; expiry date: 11/26

Message: The above batch of Weleda Baby Teething Powder is being recalled due to the possible presence of glass pieces.

Action Required: Manufacturers, wholesalers, Distributors & Retailers:

Wholesalers/Distributors: Same are requested to contact their affected customers and recall the implicated batch and provide a point-of-sale recall notice to their retail customers.

Retailers: Same are requested to remove the implicated batch from sale and display recall notices at point-of-sale.

Consumers: Consumers are advised not to administer the implicated batch to infants or children.

FSAI Serve Closure Order On South Tipperary Restaurant/Cafe.

A total of fifteen enforcement orders, including one in South Tipperary, were served on food businesses across Ireland last month, (May 2025)

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today reported that ten Closure Orders and five Prohibition Orders were served on food businesses during the month of May for breaches of food safety legislation, pursuant to the FSAI Act, 1998 and the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020. The Enforcement Orders were issued by Environmental Health Officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE) and by officers of the FSAI.

Five Closure Orders, including one in South Tipperary, were served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on:

Shake Dog (Restaurant/ Café), Unit 23, Showgrounds Shopping Centre, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.
Kerala Royal Caters (Service Sector), Unit 27C, Ashbourne Business Centre, Ballybin Road, Ashbourne, Meath.
Pizza Corner (Take Away), Main Street, Caherconlish, Limerick.
Thindi (Service Sector), 143 Phibsborough Road, Dublin 7.
Tasty Food (Takeaway), Unit 2, Cross Avenue, Ballyneety, Limerick.

Five Closure Orders were served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on:

Haperty Limited – Trading at Mind Mega Mela 2025 (Closed activity: the activity associated with the handling, preparation and cooking of raw fish and raw poultry for sale to members of the public (Takeaway), St Margaret’s Road, Finglas, Dublin 11.
Spice Village & Indian Kebab House (Takeaway), Ferry Road, Tarbert, Kerry.
Houda Foods (Wholesaler/ Distributor), Unit 5, Ballinlough Business Park, Ballinlough, Roscommon.
Heyba’s Kitchen, Shed A3 Bremore Farm, Flemington Lane, Bremore, Balbriggan, County Dublin.
Stop n Shop (Convenience Store), 52-54 Tullow Street, Carlow.

Two Prohibition Orders were served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on:

Haperty Limited Trading at Mind Mega Mela 2025 (Takeaway), St Margaret’s Road, Finglas, Dublin 11.
Noor Halal (Butcher Shop), 10 Church Street, Dundalk, Co. Louth.

Three Prohibition Orders were served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on:

Kerala Royal Caters (Service Sector), Unit 27C, Ashbourne Business Centre, Ballybin Road, Ashbourne, Meath.
Houda Foods (Wholesaler/ Distributor), Unit 5, Ballinlough Business Park, Ballinlough, Roscommon.
Domestic Kitchen, East Road, East Wall, Dublin 3.

Some of the reasons for the Enforcement Orders in May include: an unregistered business operating in a shed building where the other half of the shed was a working car workshop; an identification mark belonging to an approved establishment was unlawfully used on food products that had been produced in an unapproved domestic kitchen; inadequate pest control measures; presence of rodent droppings and dead insects in food handling and storage areas; visible mouse droppings; no food safety management system in place; food stored at incorrect temperatures in a container on the grass for an unknown period of time; inadequate hygiene, cleaning, and sanitation practices, including lack of hot water, hand soap, and lack of handwashing during food preparation; black grime, food debris and grease on all floors under the sinks, and oil under the counters and fryers; grease residue dripping on to the floor next to the grease trap area, from a large utensil used for food; lack of labelling, traceability, and supplier documentation for food products.

Mr Greg Dempsey, (Chief Executive, FSAI), warned that every food business must be registered with a competent authority and that all food businesses have a legal obligation to ensure the food they sell is safe to eat.
“The high number of Enforcement Orders in May is disappointing, especially as the type of non-compliances, such as unclean premises and pest infestations, are all preventable where the business has a food safety management system in place and staff are properly trained. Additionally, while the vast majority of food businesses comply with their legal requirement to register their business prior to operating, unfortunately, some choose to operate without the knowledge or supervision of the competent authorities, potentially exposing consumers to unsafe or fraudulent food. These businesses will be pursued using the legal powers available to us. The FSAI website has a wealth of free information for any food business to access if they need help. We also have a free Learning Portal to assist in building compliance by food businesses and it includes eLearning modules, webinars, short videos, and explanatory materials covering a broad range of relevant food safety topics,” said Mr Dempsey.

Also, during the month of April a Prohibition Order was served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on:

La Citadel, Glebe House, River Mall, Main Street, Swords, County Dublin

Details of the food businesses served with Enforcement Orders are published on the FSAI’s website. Closure Orders and Improvement Orders will remain listed in the enforcement reports on the 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.