Cork meat plant stayed open despite having 226 Covid cases, Dáil hears

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said the decision to close any meat plant or any business is made by public health officials or by the Health and Safety Authority, HSA, as appropriate.

A meat plant in Cork had 226 positive Covid cases but never closed down, creating a major health risk, the Dáil has heard.

Sinn Féin deputy leader Pearse Doherty raised the matter at Leaders’ Questions and asked what hold “meat barons” had over the State.

In response, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said there has been no message from the Government telling meat plants to stay open contrary to public health advice.

Mr Varadkar said any decision to close a plant is made solely by public health officials or the Health and Safety Authority (HSA).

Mr Doherty said the so-called "meat barons" were playing with people's lives in the interests of profit.

The Sinn Féin deputy said last week testing was suspended in plants when capacity reached 72,000 and not the 100,000 target.

He said meat plants have been the site of at least 44 clusters throughout the State and at least 1,600 cases of Covid-19.

They were the main reasons for the localised lockdowns in Kildare, Laois and Offaly, Mr Doherty added.

Citing a Freedom of Information Act response to the Irish Farmers' Journal, Mr Doherty said 226 cases were associated with one plant in July.

“We understand that plant is in Cork and that it was never closed down. Yet last week, testing in meat plants was suspended,” he said.

“Yesterday, we learned of another outbreak in a meat plant in Waterford and this is causing huge concern. At least 28 cases are associated with this cluster, more tests are pending and hopefully, the HSE's infection control team are on the ground,” Mr Doherty added.

He said local media in Waterford reported that earlier this week, workers from the plant were being bused to work on a packed 50-seater bus.

“Every seat was full, it was standing room only and people were standing in the aisles. At that time, there were already cases confirmed in that plant," Mr Doherty said. 

That is shocking. The meat barons are playing with people's lives in the interests of profit, plain and simple, and they are getting away with it.

This should be contrasted with how they are treating pubs, he added.

Mr Doherty said: “Outbreaks in meat plants have accounted for one-third of all workplace clusters. The situation in Waterford has been going on for a number of weeks but it was only confirmed that this was happening yesterday.”

Mr Varadkar said there was no message from Government requiring plants to stay open and that was a "paranoid fantasy" on the part of the deputy.

The Tánaiste defended the level of Covid-19 testing and the regime and said an important milestone had been passed this week with the one-millionth test.

“Meat plants, as we all know, are at high risk of becoming clusters,” Mr Varadkar.

“We have known that for a long time and that is precisely why there are specific protocols in place in relation to meat plants. That is why there is a joint committee on it and why there is surveillance testing happens in meat plants. 

Even though the positivity rate is very low, it is still down as a precaution, as it is in nursing homes and some other places. 

"While it was suspended last week, when there was a huge increase in demand for testing, it resumed last Monday,” he said.

Mr Varadkar said the decision to close any meat plant or any business is made by public health officials or by the Health and Safety Authority, HSA, as appropriate.