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THE CORK RESTAURANT run by chef Seamus O’Connell is open again for business after a closure order on it was lifted.
The Ivory Tower on Princes Street in the city had been slapped with an immediate closure order at the end of November by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, which is under the auspices of the HSE. The high-end restaurant, however, continued trading and the FSAI took O’Connell to the High Court on 9 December to get the closure enforced.
O’Connell says now that following a meeting with HSE’s environmental health officers on 15 December, the order was lifted. The restaurant is now “fully compliant with all food regulations” though O’Connell conceded that he had objected to the paperwork generated by HACCP (food safety system) requirements in the past.
O’Connell said:
I’m glad to have the whole business behind me so I can get back to inventing dishes and push on with what’s left of the Christmas and New Year trade. Then it will be onwards and upwards in 2012.
The former television chef for RTÉ’s Soulfood series said he had been heartened by support from members of the public for the Ivory Tower and that he had heard there was a Twitter campaign with the hashtag #SaveTheIvoryTower. He said:
I didn’t even know what Twitter was before this, but really want to thank everyone for their support.
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what a joke the HSE is! paying you sick pay will you work? children’s allowance for kids overage? makes my stomach turn. I know of a community welfare officer (who deals with rent allowance) rents a house out without reg with prtb or the tax man. of course I reported her ass to relevant authorities! just indicative of the system, rife with double standards and misuse of public funds??!! all this on top of the fact people dying on hospital beds, those responsible should be sacked straight away, no pussy around. I said it before you need someone from a business background to run the HSE, Michael smurfit or fergal Quinn
” The figures come at a time when the taxpayer is still paying 100,000 every week on the failed Personnel, Payroll and Related Systems software.” disgraceful.
Good news about DELL and 100 new jobs. It will only take 37 years to get the rest of ex DELL employees back to work.
what leaves me totally astonished that it is so obvious that some people can not make ends meet and they pay these sums to people who dont even deserve it…. NO EMPATHY at all, for gods sake where have we landed? Money is evil it makes us so dependent on it!!! Thats whats the crisis is for!!!
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