Employers' group Ibec has said the introduction of shortened isolation periods for critical workers is urgently required given emerging staff shortages across several essential industries.
Ibec said that existing isolation protocols, along with capacity constraints on PCR testing facilities and complexity around booster availability, means that many businesses are facing significant staffing challenges in the week ahead.
Ibec CEO Danny McCoy said that businesses across Ireland are entering 2022 with great uncertainty but are supportive of the short-term public health crisis measures.
"However, increasingly many businesses in critical supply chains are experiencing staffing shortages induced by the "pingdemic" effect of close contact guidelines," Mr McCoy said.
"The well-documented delays in access to PCR tests and booster availability for younger age cohorts across the country are further adding to these staffing challenges," he added.
Danny McCoy said the Government must urgently engage in a practical, ongoing review of self-isolation protocols and restricted movement requirements for close contacts.
"Failure to act swiftly will result in unnecessary disruption to manufacturing and retailing activities providing essential supply of goods and services across society," he warned.
"It is crucial now to avoid adding a short-term economic crisis to the public health crisis," he added.
Retail Excellence has also called on the Government to change the current rules around close contacts of those who have tested positive with Covid-19.
Close contacts of positive cases must restrict their movements for ten days if they have not received a booster vaccine dose, while those who have had a booster at least a week prior must restrict their movements for five days.
Jean McCabe, Vice-Chair of Retail Excellence, said the Government has gone some way towards acknowledging the scale of the crisis by cutting the period of isolation from ten to seven days for those who themselves have received a positive result and have been boosted or have been infected in the previous three months.
"However, our close contact rules represent a very serious problem and need to be reduced. They are having a much bigger impact on retail staffing at the moment than positive cases - many businesses are not able to roster enough staff to even open because so many people are close contacts," Ms McCabe said.
She also pointed out that many retailers were operating with a skeleton staff and many have not been able to open over the Christmas period due to the need for close contacts of positive cases to restrict their movements for such an extended period of time.
"We understand that cases are skyrocketing yet the response with regard to close contacts does not appear to be proportionate to the threat posed by this variant," she stated.
