# Regulation 22 (Food and Drink) — non-compliances in Dublin

> What inspectors found under Regulation 22 (Food and Drink) at 6 early years services in Dublin, with providers' responses.

## Regulation 22 in Dublin

Food and Drink: **6** non-compliance(s) in the latest reports we read.

An inspection records what inspectors saw **on one day**; services respond with corrective actions — [how to read this](/methodology.md).

30 September 2025

##### [Teanga Beo Baile Formaid Cuideachta Faoi Theorainn Ráthaíochta](/creche/teanga-beo-baile-formaid-cuideachta-faoi-theorainn-rathaiochta-dublin.md), Dublin · Regulation 22 — Food and drink

- On the day of inspection, the children were observed drinking fruit juices, crisps and eating dairy foods which had a high sugar content. This is not in keeping with the healthy eating policy in the service which promotes healthy eating among the children

- Snack Time: Following the inspection, Teanga Beo has implemented immediate changes to ensure that only nutritious and suitable foods are provided to children in line with Regulation 22. From 13/10/2025, the service will provide sandwiches and fresh fruit daily for snack time. Snacks or lunchboxes from home will no longer be accepted to ensure consistency with our Healthy Eating Policy. Only water and milk are now offered to children throughout the day. A parent letter was issued on 10/10/2025 informing all families of these changes and the rationale behind them. Dinner Time: Teanga Beo are upgrading the main meal provision to enhance nutrition and variety. The service will now avail of Early Days Foods, an approved provider of healthy hot meals for early years settings. This initiative received Board approval in early November 2025, and are currently purchasing the necessary equipment to support safe storage and serving of meals

22 September 2025

##### [Deansrath Family Centre Play and Development](/creche/deansrath-family-centre-play-and-development-dublin-22.md), Dublin 22 · Regulation 22 — Food and drink

- During the inspection, it was observed that children were given juice with their breakfast and dinner. Drinking water was not accessible or offered to children during the inspection. This practice does not align with healthy eating guidelines and is at variance with the services healthy eating policy, which states that milk or water will be provided with meals

- The service will no longer offer apple juice to children. Staff have re-familiarised themselves with the services healthy eating policy, going forward children will be provided with milk or water

30 July 2025

##### [Kidd's Care Montessori School](/creche/kidd-s-care-montessori-school-dublin-2.md), Dublin 2 · Regulation 22 — Food and drink

- 1. Children attending a full day care service were not offered food every 3 hours, for example, in the Montessori room, dinner was provided at 11.15am and afternoon snack was provided at 14.50pm. This was a non-compliance on the last inspection in July 2023

- 1. Children attending full day care will be offered food every 3 hours. A timetable has been added to each room and in the kitchen and all staff have been updated on this requirement

15 May 2025

##### [First Steps Academy Creche & Montessori Limited](/creche/first-steps-academy-creche-montessori-limited-dublin-15.md), Dublin 15 · Regulation 22 — Food and drink

- 1. The provision of alternative meals was not in line with the national guidelines on food and nutrition which state that a healthy alternative should be offered. Children attending the service for full day care who refused the hot meals offered were observed to be given brioches or dry crackers as alternative food offering. Dry crackers or brioche are highly processed food options and alone are not an adequate nutritious food offering. A child’s hot meal serving should include ½ to 1 serving of vegetables, 1 serving of bread, pasta, rice or potatoes and one serving of either meat, poultry, eggs, beans or cheese

- 1. The service immediately stopped offering dry crackers or brioches as alternative meals. Healthy nutritious alternatives now include vegetable, proteins, like beans, cheese or eggs and carbohydrates like bread, pasta or potatoes. Staff will be trained on health and nutrition policy and appropriate healthy alternatives. Staff will be reminded about offering healthy alternatives only. Parents will be informed of the healthy food alternatives and to support these choices. The manager will review the meal practices monthly

7 May 2025

##### [Bunny Hops Creche and Montessori LTD](/creche/bunny-hops-creche-and-montessori-ltd-dublin-5.md), Dublin 5 · Regulation 22 — Food and drink

- 1. Although children were observed to eat from bowls and plates during lunch time, in the afternoon children in the Playgroup room were observed to eat fruit off a paper napkin laid on the table. Children should be given adequate utensils to enrich their eating experience

- 1. The registered provider has stated that the children use bowls, plates and utensils during snack time and will continue to do so to aid their eating experience

25 February 2025

##### [The Children's Place](/creche/the-children-s-place-dublin-1.md), Dublin 1 · Regulation 22 — Food and drink

- The provision of alternative meals was not in line with national guidelines on food and nutrition which state that a healthy alternative should be offered. A child was offered a brioche as an alternative in the Wobbler room, and staff in the pre-Montessori reported that children are offered a brioche or breadsticks if they do not eat their hot meal. Every hot meal should include ½ to 1 serving of vegetables, 1 serving of either bread, potatoes, pasta and rice, and 1 serving of either meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans and cheese

- The service had a meeting with staff and ensure brioche of breadsticks will not be given as an alternative meal and outlined that appropriate healthy alternative meals are available

### Regulation 22 in other counties

- [Cork](/regulation/22/cork.md)
- [Galway](/regulation/22/galway.md)
- [Kerry](/regulation/22/kerry.md)
- [Kildare](/regulation/22/kildare.md)
- [Kilkenny](/regulation/22/kilkenny.md)
- [Meath](/regulation/22/meath.md)
- [Monaghan](/regulation/22/monaghan.md)
- [Offaly](/regulation/22/offaly.md)
- [Sligo](/regulation/22/sligo.md)
- [Waterford](/regulation/22/waterford.md)
- [Westmeath](/regulation/22/westmeath.md)
- [Wexford](/regulation/22/wexford.md)
- [Wicklow](/regulation/22/wicklow.md)

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Página: https://creche-inspection-reports.pages.dev/regulation/22/dublin/
Fonte: Tusla Early Years Inspectorate
Recolha: 2026-09-11
