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Up to 60 employees at a meat plant in Edenderry, Co Offaly, have tested positive for coronavirus.
Rosderra Meats says it has implemented important control measures for Covid-19.
All staff have been told not to come to work when they feel sick or have symptoms of the virus.
Rosderra Meats also has more than 120 boxes of Covid-19 at another factory in Roscrea, Co Tipperary.
Former Communications Minister TD Independent Denis Naughten has expressed fear that a second wave of Covid-19 may hit the country when the restrictions are eased next week.
Naughten said he feared the second wave due to the increase in Covid-19 clusters in meat plants that could replicate in other industries when the restrictions are eased starting May 18.
The infection rate in some meat plants was one-third to one-half the workforce, he told Newstalk Breakfast.
Controls at meat plants don’t work, he said.
Mr. Naughten questioned the number of veterinary staff in the Department of Agriculture responsible for enforcing regulations at meat plants.
The meat plant problems are the result of a combination of factors, he said, such as the lack of information for both employers and employees on how the regulations should be implemented.
The first infections in meat plants occurred six weeks before detection of personnel began, this time the delay was a concern, he added.
It seemed that no lessons were learned after what happened in the nursing homes.
The Roscommon TD said it did not believe that the problem with the meat plant worker groups that had Covid-19 would have an impact on the meat supply, although it could have an impact on “the slaughter.”
His fear was about system management “not only in the meat industry, but also about how (HSE) is managing the virus.
There is a major problem with contact tracking and if it is replicated next week it will be a big problem.
SIPTU Deputy Assistant Secretary General for the Private Sector Gerry McCormack told RTÉ radio Morning Ireland that the problem was that since the start of the pandemic, some employers in the meat industry did not take the issue seriously.
“When this crisis started, the plants received guidelines, not protocols. There is a question if some should have opened, some were not essential.
Some employers did not take it seriously and failed to implement social distancing and did not implement processes to help workers, he said.
McCormack compared the meat and dairy sectors, saying that the dairy sector was very well regulated with a completely different demographic.
He noted that between 70% and 90% of the workers in the meat industry are migrants, many of whom live in accommodation.
They were also afraid to say something if they got sick.
Additional Digital Desk Reports
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