Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy raised the matter of meat factories and the Covid pandemic. As with every other sector of society and the economy, the safety of employees from danger and the risk of infection is absolutely paramount. That is essential in the meat and food processing sectors in particular, given that their employees are designated as essential workers and therefore have had to work throughout the pandemic. They have carried out tremendous work in ensuring that the food supply has been kept moving and every effort and step that can be put in place to protect them must be taken. My Department has been working with public health and the Health and Safety Authority and there has been strong co-ordination in ensuring that the highest standards are in place. The processing sector recognises the priority objective of keeping staff safe, although that has been challenging throughout the pandemic because of the fact that they have had to keep operating.

As regards employee terms and conditions, like every other sector, these sectors must comply with labour and employment rights. It is essential that that happens in every sector, including the processing sector. Workers' rights are not directly a matter for my Department but the ESRI is conducting some long-term research in this regard and I have engaged with it on that. Let me be clear that this is the same for all sectors of the economy where employment law applies and that is the same in the meat processing sector.

We have many piers around the country. Six of our larger harbours are designated and owned by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The rest are, by and large, owned and operated by the local authorities and significant funding is provided by my Department every year to assist local authorities in keeping them up. I will shortly be announcing a grant call for the year ahead to support local authorities in the upkeep of those piers. That will be forthcoming soon.

As regards supporting small local producers against the backdrop of Covid, the wider supports in the economy are available to everyone. However, smaller producers have been particularly challenged. I have been monitoring the situation closely to ensure supports are being availed of and will continue to do so.

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