Owners of Limerick food premises face imprisonment over hygiene breaches

High Court Reporter

The Food Safety Authority has threatened to seek the imprisonment of two owners of a food outlet in Limerick, which it closed down for breaches of the food and hygiene laws, a High Court judge was told on Monday.

Barrister Michael McCormack, counsel for the authority’s chief enforcement officer Bernard Hegarty, told Ms Justice Denise Brett that the food outlet concerned at 2A John’s Street, Limerick, had a substantial history of non-compliance with food hygiene orders.

Mr McCormack, who appeared with Edward Lyons of Beauchamps Solicitors, told the court that the Authority intended to bring attachment and committal proceedings later this week against Timothy Onwuegbusi and Emeka Ikebudu.

Mr Hegarty, Director of Enforcement Policy with the Authority, stated in written evidence that the two men had breached an order of Ms Justice Siobhan Stack made in July following their failure to close down their shop immediately after the issuing of a closure order.

He was not satisfied that the contraventions specified in the Closure Order had been remedied or, indeed, had the business been registered by either of the men with the HSE’s registration system.

Mr McCormack told Judge Brett that following an inspection of the shop on May 26th last, a Closure Order had been issued by the Food Safety Authority. A number of inspections had been made on different dates in July, confirming that the owners were in breach of the Closure Order.

He said that on Friday last Mr Anthony Lawlor, senior environmental health officer of the HSE, attended the shop with a colleague, Brian McPhillips, and found the business to be open with the entrance door ajar and the roller shutter up.

Timothy Onwuegbusi had been standing inside the shop counter, and he believed the shop was open for business by Onwuegbusi in breach of the Closure Order.

He said the continuing breach of the Closure Order and the subsequent order of the High Court directing immediate closure would seriously undermine the enforcement of food safety in the State.

“These are serious contraventions and they show a complete absence of any food safety management system of the food business premises,” Mr Hegarty stated. He said shopkeepers normally moved quickly to remedy complaints made under Closure Orders.

“I believe that the danger to the public requires more urgent enforcement,” Mr Hegarty added in his application for the attachment and committal of both Onwuegbusi and Ikebudu.

The matter was put in for hearing later this week.