The chief executive of the Mental Health Commission says 16 people in the sector have died with Covid-19.
Speaking on RTÉ's Saturday with Cormac Ó hEadhra, John Farrelly said there have been inconsistencies in the testing of staff and while he has assurances from the HSE that more testing will happen, he says he is not clear about when results will be available.
He said that while healthcare workers are been given priority, he is finding different approaches in different areas of the country.
Mr Farrelly said 57% of mental health services have been tested so far and he has been told the rest of them will be carried out this week.
Last month, the commission said that it was notified of 12 Covid-19 related deaths at mental health facilities.
Meanwhile, a consultant in Infectious Diseases at the Mater Hospital has said that patients are being failed by the testing system
Professor Jack Lambert said he is seeing many people who he regards as "missed opportunities" because they have been tested, but did not receive results before they were admitted to hospital.
He said there is no linked up system and the testing regime needs to be "tightened up" before the country can be reopened.
Prof Lambert said that it was important that in congregated settings carers are tested first.
As of 3pm yesterday more than 230,000 coronavirus tests have been completed.
There have now been a total of 1,429 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland, and over 22,500 confirmed cases.
