Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

We know from media reports that the Minister for Health was urged by legal advisers to introduce legislation to allow the Government to forcibly close meat plants. We know entire counties have had to close on account of meat plants, that a plant in Cork with 226 cases never closed and that meat plants have been a consistent problem in terms of clusters of Covid-19, posing a serious risk to workers and public health. We now know that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is concerned that some plants are becoming complacent. To date, no move has been made to introduce this legislation. Is it proposed to introduce legislation to allow the Government to forcibly close meat plants?

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