What do closure, prohibition and improvement orders mean?

When a food inspector finds a serious problem, they have legal tools to make a business fix it. The three you will see on the FSAI's website, and on this site, are closure orders, prohibition orders and improvement orders.^[1],[2]

Each one is a record of action taken on a specific date. None of them is a hygiene rating.

Where the powers come from

There are two legal bases, and the FSAI's published lists say which one each order used.^[2]

• The Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act 1998 provides for improvement notices and improvement orders, closure orders and prohibition orders.^[3]
• S.I. No. 79 of 2020, the official controls regulations, provides for compliance notices, prohibition orders and closure orders.^[4]

The FSAI says enforcement orders are never issued for minor breaches.^[7]

Closure order

A closure order shuts all or part of a premises, or stops some of its activities.^[2] Under the 2020 regulations it can also cover a business's websites and social media.^[4]

The grounds depend on the law used:

• Under the 1998 Act, an inspector must believe there is, or is likely to be, a grave and immediate danger to public health.^[3]
• Under the 2020 regulations, the ground is that the business is failing to comply with food law.^[4]

It is served by an authorised officer of the FSAI or of an official agency, after consulting the agency's chief executive or a designated officer.^[3],[4] In 2025, orders were served by HSE environmental health officers, Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority officers and FSAI officers.^[6]

Prohibition order

A prohibition order deals with food rather than a premises. It applies to a specific product, class, batch or item.^[2]

It can stop the food being sold, or require it to be withdrawn, recalled, detained or destroyed.^[2],[3] Under the 1998 Act the test is a serious risk to public health; under the 2020 regulations it is a failure to comply with food law.^[3],[4]

Improvement order

An improvement order is a two-step process.

• First, an inspector serves an improvement notice. It names the problem, says what must be done and sets a deadline.^[3]
• If the notice is not complied with, the FSAI or official agency can apply to the District Court for an improvement order directing the business to comply.^[2],[3]

An improvement order must allow for a closure order if it is not met in time.^[3] They are rare: the FSAI reported two in 2025.^[6] Improvement notices themselves are not listed on the FSAI website.^[2]

The 2020 regulations have a similar tool, the compliance notice. Missing its deadline is an offence in itself, so no court order is needed.^[4] Compliance notices do not appear among the order types the FSAI lists.^[1],[2]

Can a business challenge an order?

Yes. A business can appeal a closure or prohibition order to the District Court within seven days of it being served. The judge can confirm the order, change it or cancel it.^[3],[4]

An order that takes effect immediately stays in force during an appeal unless the court suspends it.^[3],[4]

How an order is lifted

The law says a closure order lasts until the problems it names are put right.^[3],[4] The FSAI says an order may be lifted once the premises has improved to the inspector's satisfaction.^[2]

FSAI guidance on the 1998 Act describes the steps: the inspector re-inspects, and if satisfied signs a formal notice lifting the order. The agency then tells the FSAI so the lifting can be published.^[5] That guidance dates from 2003; we have not found an equivalent document for orders under the 2020 regulations.

If the problems are never fixed, an order can stay in place indefinitely.^[5]

How long orders stay on the FSAI website

The law requires the FSAI to bring closure and prohibition orders to the public's attention.^[3],[4] It publishes them in reports on its website, and removes them after a set time:^[1],[2]

• Closure orders: three months after the order is lifted.
• Improvement orders: three months after the order is lifted.
• Prohibition orders: one month after the order is lifted.
• Prosecutions: three months after the court hearing.

beforeyoueat.ie keeps older records from archived FSAI reports and press releases. Every record here shows its dates and its source. See how to read a record.

Why a lifted order is not a verdict on today

An order describes a problem an inspector found on a particular date. Once it is lifted, an inspector has judged that the problem it named was put right.^[2],[5] The FSAI itself counts the listing period from when a premises is judged to have corrected its food safety issue.^[6],[7]

So a lifted order is a historical record. It is not evidence that a business is unsafe now, and an order that is no longer listed is not evidence that a business is safe now. Neither tells you about inspections that found no serious problems, because those results are not published.