Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am a new Deputy from north Kildare, which is one of the lockdown counties. Upset has been expressed to me by small business owners across north Kildare who followed the rules and are just getting off their knees to open again. In stark contrast to the treatment of some employees in the meat industry, every business owner I met mentioned the fact that their employees have mortgages and bills to pay, food to buy and back-to-school expenses for their kids. I would not be doing my job as a Teachta Dála if I did not give voice today to how this compares with some of the sharp practices reported in the media.

My first question is to the HSA. The witnesses mentioned how many investigations the HSA had completed. In any of the announced or unannounced inspections, did the authority come across the bolting open of toilet doors, which I saw detailed in the submissions from our first session today, in which we met union representatives? They described how toilet doors were locked open, which meant that women and particularly young women who may be menstruating were forced to use toilets with open doors. They would have been forced to tend to their intimate hygiene practically in the open. Did the authority come across such cases?