Inspection of 11 November 2025 — Inspection Report
Immediate action notice. The inspection focused on an examination of compliance under Regulations 9, 11, 16, 19, 22, 23, 25 and 32. However, on inspection additional non-compliances which were identified under
Regulation 9 — Management and recruitment
- (d) One of the seven adults who had lived in a state other than Ireland for six months or more as an adult did not have international police vetting from that state available for inspection
Provider's corrective action:
- The registered provider reports the vetting had been mislaid. An application was submitted for renewed police vetting, and the renewed Police Vetting disclosure was issued on the 9 December 2025. The registered provider commits to ensuring there will be a digital and paper copy of all files maintained to prevent loss of files in the future
Regulation 23 — Safeguarding health, safety and welfare of child
- General Safety: 1. A tall unit in the hallway on the second floor was not observed to be secured to the wall. This posed a potential risk of injury should it fall on a child. Infection Control: 2. The was no warm water in the three sinks in the sanitary accommodation on the ground floor. A temperature of 14.5oC was recorded by the inspector at 10.30am. Warm water is required for effective hand washing. 3. The foot pedal mechanism on one of the bins in the sanitary accommodation on the ground floor was broken, requiring repeated hand touch of the lid of the bin. This increased the potential risk of cross contamination. Action submitted by the Registered Provider
Provider's corrective action:
- General Safety: 1. Unit was removed from the hallway. The registered provider will ensure to risk assess furniture and high furniture will be secured to the wall. Infection Control: 2. The registered provider reports that the reset valve had not been reset after a fire drill the previous day. Once corrected the water in the sinks recorded at the between 39.1 to 41.5oC. The registered provider will ensure the water valve is reset after every fire drill. 3. The bins in the sanitary area were removed and replaced with new bins. The registered provider will ensure equipment is checked on a daily basis
Regulation 30 — Minimum space requirements
- (2) The registered provider did not ensure there was a minimum clear floor space available for the number of children registered in the Little Buds room. This can impact on the safety and supervision of children. The room measures 22.3m2 which can accommodate up to 9 children in the 2-to-6-year age range*. A review of the attendance log showed that up to 11 children were regularly present in the room at any one time. *2.35m2 space required for each child in the 2 to 3 years age range. 2.3m2 space required for each child in the 3 to 6 years age range
Provider's corrective action:
- The registered provider reports that some of the children in the room have reduced their hours to back to sessional hours which the room size allows for a period of up to 3.5 hours a day. Parents have been advised that any change in their service hours must be agreed in advance in order to meet service space requirements
Regulation 31 — Notification of incidents
- (d) The registered provider did not notify the agency of a recent incident in the service
Provider's corrective action:
- The registered providers immediately submitted a notification of incident form. The service will ensure to follow appropriate procedures and engage with Tusla if they are unsure
Found compliant: Regulation 11, 16, 19, 22, 25, 32.