Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will ask a number of questions and yield the remainder of my time to Deputy James Lawless, who represents the Kildare constituency immediately impacted. I welcome Ms Patricia King and thank her for returning to this committee. I acknowledge the compelling evidence of Ms Labo on her direct contact with the workers impacted.

I have two questions. There is no doubt that many of the terms and conditions of employment in the meat industry must be addressed, particularly the issue of bogus self-employment. They are matters I have no doubt the trade union movement has been working on long before this issue arose and will continue to do so. For the remit of this committee, the impact of the virus is our focus. The learning point seems to be that where there is co-living and close working, with very few public transport options, there is an inevitability that that will lead to a cluster of Covid-19. My question is for all the witnesses. It appeared for a long time that meat industry plants would not be impacted in the same way they were elsewhere in Europe, particularly in June and July. Have the representatives been given any information as to the reason this has happened now? Many people want to know what happened in this region, the reason the virus was allowed to develop there, and the source of it.