A children’s disability centre in Co Meath had rotten or out-of-date food in fridges, no running water in some bathrooms and brown faecal matter on ceilings and furniture, an inspection by the health and safety watchdog has found.The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) published 24 inspection reports on disability centres on Tuesday.An inspection of Boyne Manor, operated by Three Steps Limited, in November 2025 identified “significant concerns over the quality and safety of care provided for young residents”.Following the inspection, the chief inspector issued a notice of proposed decision to cancel the centre’s registration.According to the inspection report, much of the premises was in an extremely poor state of cleanliness and maintenance.In many areas around the house, including children’s bedrooms and bathrooms, there was a lot of dust and cobwebs as well as a “large number of living and dead spiders”.“Bathrooms were visibly dirty and inspectors observed a build-up of mould along tile and bath edges and patches of mould on a bathroom ceiling,” the report said.“Some ceilings and furniture were dirty with dried food and brown faecal matter.”Inspectors identified holes in walls as well as torn and flaked plaster and safety padding. “Furniture such as couches, wardrobes and tables were observed with broken legs, torn upholstery, and broken wood and veneer. Fabric of furniture was stained with brown smearing,” the report said.As a result of the findings, by noon the inspectors issued the provider an urgent action plan for return in the days following this inspection on what would be done to ensure these issues were addressed.The inspectors also raised concerns about risk management and oversight, “significant gaps” in staff training and “significantly lacking” communication supports for children, especially those who were non-verbal.The inspectors said they were “not assured” the children using the service were receiving either a safe or quality service. It said there was poor governance and oversight of the centre across several regulations.Urgent actions were issued to the provider related to the premises, fire safety arrangements and infection control standards.The inspectors conducted a follow-up inspection in March 2026 and found the provider had made progress in the intervening months.Improvements were found in staffing, staff training and development, infection prevention and control, positive behavioural support and premises. However, a number of key actions were still in progress and had not yet been completed. These actions related mainly to fire safety, personal plans, communication and governance and management and all of these regulations were found to be non-compliant.The provider remains subject to regulatory oversight by the chief inspector, Hiqa said.Separately, in Garvagh House, a Dublin disability centre run by St Michael’s House, the inspector found residents had not been protected from all forms of abuse.There were ongoing incompatibility issues between residents which were adversely impacting their quality of life, according to the April inspection.“The minutes of the 2026 service improvement team meetings noted that the provider did not have the means to meet all residents’ needs, and that living in the centre was having an adverse impact on them,” the report said.“The provider had recently engaged with their funder to explore some residents moving to more suitable service providers; however, there was no confirmation or time frame for any moves.”Consequently, residents were continuing to live in an environment that negatively impacted their safety and welfare.Despite this challenge, staff were observed during the inspection to be engaging kindly with residents and with residents appearing comfortable, the report noted.