The Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Authority, Dr Sharon McGuinness has said they have received a number of complaints in relation to meat factories.
However, she said no inspections had been carried out on foot of the complaints.
Figures from the Department of Health show there is a total of 828 Covid-19 cases in meat processing plants, an increase of 328 on the number of 500 given last week.
Ms McGuinness told the Dáil Covid-19 committee that arrangements were being made for inspections to be carried out but she said the primary responsibility was to get the outbreaks under control so it didn't spread into the community.
She was responding to a question by Sinn Fein's David Cullinane who asked if the HSA had any remit in relation to meat factories.
Deputy Cullinane said it was "extraordinary" that the HSA had received complaints but no inspectors have been able to go into meat factories.
In her opening statement, Ms McGuinness said the HSA has assigned 67 of its 109 field inspectors to carry out oversight of compliance with Covid-19 safety measures in the workplace.
Addressing the today, Dr. McGuinness outlined the responsibilities of the HSA, which include overseeing implementation of the Return to Work Safely Protocol aimed at ensuring safety in the workplace as the economy reopens.
She told the committee that the 67 field inspectors allocated to inspect on foot of the Protocol include existing general and specialist inspectors, as well as policy inspectors reassigned to field inspection.
However, she noted that a cohort of inspectors must be retained to ensure the Authority's other legal obligations are met through a proactive and reactive risk based inspection regime for general occupational health and safety matters, including the investigation of serious incidents and fatalities.
"As a general rule, Authority inspections are unannounced. However, due to the fact that workplaces may have different working arrangements in place to protect against Covid-19, the Authority may need in a number of cases to arrange a suitable time to visit," said Dr McGuinness.
Dr. McGuinness also cautioned that while the HSA is overseeing compliance with the Protocol, because of the nature of Covid-19 a "cross body inspection and compliance approach" is required.
"To this end, a range of other inspection bodies have been mobilized by Government to also inspect and check compliance with the Protocol, including the Environmental Health Officers, Department of Agriculture and the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC)," she said.
Dr. McGuinness noted that in normal circumstances, the HSA implements a risk-based occupational health and safety inspection programme across all sectors of the economy covering around 10,000 inspections and investigations.
She said this programme is based on both proactive and reactive inspections, often arising from complaints, reports of serious incidents and fatalities.
However, that inspection programme has now been refocused to oversee compliance - and in the first instance, prioritisation of inspections will concentrate on sectors scheduled to open in line with the government Roadmap, and based on complaints received.
She acknowledged the challenging nature of Covid-19, particularly in the workplace, ranging from workers anxious about returning to work, to employers seeking to reopen and regain their markets amid uncertainty.
She said the key to a safe return to work over the coming weeks would be collaboration, communication, compliance with, and also enforcement of, the safety measures outlined in the Protocol, which, if followed, would allow employers and workers to ensure a safe working and business environment.
Dr. McGuinness outlined that during a site inspection, an inspector can address and advise on shortcomings in relation to the Covid-19 measures in the Protocol through a Report of Inspection left with the employer at the end of the visit, with timelines for compliance implementation.
The Inspector can also issue an Improvement Notice (IN) or Prohibition Notice (PN), and if he/she forms the opinion that the risk to the safety, health and welfare of persons is so serious that the use of a place of work should be restricted or immediately prohibited, an application can be made, ex parte, to the High Court for an order restricting or prohibiting the use of the place of work, or part of a place of work, accordingly.
Reporting: Ingrid Miley, Aisling Kenny
