'Dangerous' nursery is closed

Last week at Limerick District Court Judge Tom O'Donnell told Deirdre McLoughlin she would not be allowed to re-open the Jolly Tots day nursery in Caherdavin until she had satisfied the Mid-Western Health Board that she had adequate premises and staff. This followed a summons issued by the health board on 16 February under the Child Care (Pre-school services) Regulations 1996 on the grounds that the nursery was 'unhygienic, understaffed, cold, dirty and dangerous'.

In court Ms McLoughlin pleaded guilty to 11 contraventions of the childcare regulations on 18 August last year. These included having an insufficient number of 'competent adults' to supervise the children; not ensuring the availability of 'suitable, sufficient, nutritious and varied food'; inadequate facilities for the storage, preparation, cooking and serving of food; inadequate and unsuitable rest facilities for young children; failing to keep the premises, fixtures and fittings clean and hygienic; having unsuitable facilities for indoor and outdoor play for the number of pre-school-age children on the premises; inadequate safety provision for extinguishing fires and evacuating the children off the premises; and not having 'books, toys, games and other play materials' appropriate to the children's age and development.