Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

I thank the MRCI for its work on this matter. It has outlined a case of criminal neglect of health and workers' rights by the State. I hope what is a major scandal in terms of the treatment of these workers in regard to Covid-19 serves as a wake-up call concerning their treatment going into the future.

I will try not to ask the same questions as other members. The MRCI has highlighted that 90% of workers here do not get sick pay. When I spoke to people connected to the industry I heard of cases where workers took paracetamol to bring their temperatures down so it would not be discovered when they were scanned on their way into work. That action was linked to a culture of fear that exists in the meat factories and the absence of sick pay. Have the witnesses heard of this happening and are the reasons the same?