RTÉ stars forced to eat elsewhere after canteen closed due to rodent infestation
RTÉ’s staff canteen is at the center of an alarming rodent infestation and staff have been forced to eat elsewhere.
Tars such as Ryan Tubridy, Sharon Ní Bheoláin, Claire Byrne, Ray D’Arcy, Joe Duffy and Miriam O’Callaghan have been briefed on alternative restaurants at the Donnybrook premises in south Dublin.
The canteen, where meals are heavily subsidized by taxpayers, is said to have been infested by rats or mice, or both, in recent weeks.
RTÉ admits there has been a recent outbreak of rodents on the premises but has refused to clarify whether the canteen was invaded by rodents.
“RTÉ has a number of controls in place to monitor rodent activity at our sites, which may arise from time to time, particularly as a result of construction or other work on site or in the surrounding area,” a spokesman said.
“When rodent activity is detected, as has been the case recently, on-site experts are brought in to assess that activity and take the appropriate action, including precautionary measures. The main canteen is currently closed for essential maintenance.”
Staff have been instructed to use alternative facilities in the building until next Friday.
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Four years ago, Ryan Tubridy revealed that RTÉ staff were concerned about a mouse infestation due to construction going on next door
These include the Bite Café, which is open weekdays from 8am to 6.30pm and offers a hot meal daily from 5pm.
The Oasis room will also be converted into a café, where the station’s catering partner, Mount Charles, will serve tea, coffee and sandwiches there.
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The café in the radio building is open tomorrow from 8am to 2pm and next week Monday to Friday, also serving tea, coffee and sandwiches.
The recent upheaval and catering changes appear to mean there will be no hot lunch or breakfast available at RTÉ until after next Friday.
A RTÉ insider confirmed: “Yes. We heard there was a rodent outbreak in the canteen and staff have been told to eat elsewhere while they are eliminated.
“There’s a bet among the staff as to which DJ will be brave enough to play UB40’s ‘Rat in the kitchen’ first!”
Belfast-based catering company Mount Charles confirmed four years ago that it had invested £100,000 (€118,219) to give RTÉ’s then 1,822 staff and visitors a “new experience” to enjoy on the Donnybrook campus be able.
Mount Charles, which employs 2,500 people, said all of the menus on the Donnybrook campus were developed exclusively for RTÉ.
Four years ago, Ryan Tubridy announced that RTÉ staff were concerned about a mouse infestation due to construction going on next to the campus in south Dublin.
“They (the builders) are doing a very good job, I see, I’m not a builder, but I got the impression it’s clean, it’s not messy and it’s not shabby,” he said on his radio show at the time.
“But they’ve dug up much of the ground near where our new neighbors will be, to whom we’re happy to bring a bottle of prizese and some cheese or whatever people do when new neighbors come over.
“But maybe not the cheese, because I was told this morning that we need to be on high alert for mice.
“What appears to have happened is that with all that digging and whatever natural habitat, some of our rodent friends have had some of our rodent friends looking for a place to go and they seem to have gotten into our radio hub.
“Someone said a mouse was making the rounds. I swear it was like CSI Montrose listening to you this morning describe the mouse and then our friends on Rays [D’Arcy’s] Programs talked about it and we talked about it, it’s the talk of the town, so much care goes into these programs…so apparently the mouse is doing the rounds.
“I said, ‘Are you sure it’s not a rat?’ and they were like, ‘Fake news, it’s a mouse.’ I said, ‘Are you sure there aren’t a bunch of rats running around here?'”
“Remember what Vladimir Putin said about hamsters? He said hamsters are just rats with good PR. So maybe these are mice with good PR. I do not know.
“I’m not sure what might happen, but we’re all watching with great interest what might be skittering across the floor.”
https://www.independent.ie/style/celebrity/celebrity-news/rte-stars-forced-to-eat-elsewhere-after-staff-canteen-closed-amid-rodent-infestation-42268313.html RTÉ stars forced to eat elsewhere after canteen closed due to rodent infestation
