Health Service Executive inspectors found an exposed sewage pipe carrying fluid and faeces in an outdoor children's play area of a Co Tipperary creche last April, newly released reports have revealed.
Elsewhere, the inspectors expressed concern about information provided to parents in a Co Galway creche that incorrectly stated it was fully compliant with childcare regulations.
Inspectors also gained unsupervised access to a separate childcare facility in Tipperary by using a key left in the front door.
Another problem highlighted in several of the inspection reports - which cover Limerick, Tipperary, Mayo, Roscommon, Clare and Galway - was a lack of separate toilet facilities for children. One facility's toilets were shared with residents of an adjoining hotel in Galway.
However, the facility in question, a pre-school for children of asylum seekers located at the Eglington Hotel in Salthill, is part of a "direct provision" centre which would not ordinarily be open to members of the public.
It says it has since provided separate children's toilets for the 12 children enrolled there and addressed all other issues highlighted in the report.
The reports, most of which highlight relatively minor breaches of the regulations, are among more than 100 released under the Freedom of Information Act. They relate to inspections conducted between April and June of last year and were provided without payment of search-and-retrieval charges.
In an inspection of Little Angels creche in Thurles, Co Tipperary, inspectors criticised the general cleanliness and condition of the building, noting "an odour of stale urine" in the sanitary accommodation, and said a sewage pipe "carrying fluid/faeces was exposed externally at the point where it entered the main sewer. This area is readily accessible to the children as part of their external play area. External pipes are open and exposed and are a potential route of infestation," the report states.
The inspectors also called for the practice of carrying wet and soiled nappies through the building to an outdoor shed to cease immediately.
Attempts to contact the operator of the service were unsuccessful. It is believed it may have since ceased operation.
Inspectors stated that information provided to parents of children attending Kids Corner in Tuam, Co Galway, was "misleading" by stating that it was fully compliant with the 1996 childcare regulations and that staff are trained in first aid.
The inspectors urge creche owners to "provide parents with accurate information which reflects your service". They also highlight that play materials were in a "poor and unhygienic" condition, while unsafe and toxic substances were stored on top of a fridge in the kitchen.
Naíonra Dhurlas Eile preschool sessional service in Thurles, Co Tipperary, was advised to consider introducing an alternative system of alerting staff of the arrival of an individual at the entrance.
"On the day of the inspection, the inspection team gained unsupervised access to the service as the key was left in the outer door lock," the report states.
Hot water in the nappy changing area was measured at a "very hot" 70 degrees at Day Dreams creche on Dooradoyle Road in Limerick, while inspectors also highlighted the risk of infestation caused by the storage of a children's bed in an outdoor storage area at An Teach Beag on Renmore Road, Galway.