A Lidl was among places closed last month for breaches of food safety legislation.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said six closure orders were issued in December under the 1998 FSAI Act.
These were:
- The Carrots Tail Ltd. (Restaurant/Café), 192 Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin 6
- Joe's Take Away, 3 Dean Street, Kilkenny
- Beef and Lobster (Restaurant/Café), Unit 1 and 2 Parliament Building, 37-40 Parliament Street, Dublin 2
- Circle K Service Station, Belgard Road, Tallaght, Dublin 24
- Indian Aagrah/Bombay Brasserie (Restaurant/ Café), 89 Sundays Well Road, Cork
- Lidl Ireland GmbH (Closed area: Main store and warehouse, bakery preparation area, temporary storage container and adjoining delivery area), M1 Retail Park, Mell, Drogheda, Louth
At the Beef and Lobster in Dublin 2, inspectors said there was "a large amount of droppings" in a cavity wall behind a loose vent cover of the storage room.
They also found "significant amounts" of rodent droppings in two cavity wall openings in the basement storage room.
At the Lidl store in Drogheda, Co Louth inspectors said there was a "grave and immediate danger" due to failure to comply with regulations in relation to hygiene of food stuffs.
There was also evidence of rodent activity in the food storage and preparation area.
Overall in 2019, 124 enforcement orders served on food businesses here.
That is an increase of 13% when compared to 2018.
Between January 1st and December 31st last year, food inspectors served 107 closure orders, four improvement orders and 13 prohibition orders on food businesses throughout the country.
The types of recurring food safety issues were evidence of rodent infestation and rodent droppings, filthy conditions, failure to maintain correct temperatures of foodstuffs, a lack of knowledge of food safety by staff and unsuitable food storage facilities.
Commenting on the annual figures, FSAI CEO Dr Pamela Byrne, said: "Orders are never served for minor food safety breaches - they are served on food businesses only when a serious risk to consumer health has been identified or where there are a number of ongoing breaches of food legislation that could cause serious hygiene or other operational issues.
"There is no excuse for careless food safety practices.
"Food inspectors are encountering the same issues time and time again."
