Dáil debates

Thursday, 30 April 2020

Covid-19 (Agriculture, Food and the Marine): Statements

 

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

The evidence I have is a document from inside the company that I will not mention again and is not disputed by the company. The document indicates that 50 or more people are being considered part of a family unit and people can be moved from one family unit to another. A statement given to RTÉ indicated that people are sharing bedrooms and so on, which suggests to me that social distancing is not possible. I asked the Minister a question earlier and I did not get an answer, but I suspect the answer is zero. I asked how many on-site inspections have taken place in respect of the Covid-19 guidelines.

I will move on to a similar issue, namely, meat factories. I will not name the factory concerned, which is in Ballyjamesduff. Many people received an email containing allegations about conditions there. SIPTU and the MRCI issued a statement confirming that they received calls from SIPTU members, many of whom are migrant workers, who are concerned about health and safety. Social media reports allege that up to 160 workers at the meat plant were continuing to work while showing symptoms of Covid-19. Meat factories and other workplaces could follow nursing homes in becoming the next big Covid-19 clusters. The original response of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine was to say that responsibility for health and safety lies with the management of each meat establishment, taking into account the relevant public health advisories issued by the HSE and other Government agencies. It simply is not good enough to say that companies are responsible and for Departments to wash their hands of the situation.

The Minister for Health has since responded to Deputy Boyd Barrett and said the alleged outbreaks are being investigated by the Health Protection and Surveillance Centre and local departments of public health as a matter of urgency. Have there been on-site inspections yet? This is important in terms of workers' health and safety.

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