Soup kitchen in Sligo forced to close over toilet red-tape

The last in a series of six soup kitchens serving free meals for people in need has shut down, leaving 60 regulars struggling for food in the run-up to Christmas.

But founder Oliver Williams said yesterday that he hopes to reopen the Sligo Twist Soup Kitchen two weeks after Christmas if he can find a suitable place for customer toilets.

The only toilets in the Sligo kitchen, opened in January last year, are right behind the cooking facilities. They are suitable for staff but the HSE wants him to provide separate toilet facilities for customers.