There have been calls for public health authorities to publish further details of Covid-19 outbreaks in businesses and public settings.
Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty said that communities “deserve clarity and transparency” over clusters of cases.
He told the Dáil that the public having to rely on the “rumor mill” is not good enough.
Mr Doherty was referring to meat plants, which have been the sites of more than 40 clusters and around 1,600 cases across the country.
“They were the principal reason for the localized lockdowns in Kildare, Laois and Offaly,” he added.
“Meat barons are playing with people’s lives in the interest of profit, plain and simple and they’re getting away with it.
“What hold does the meat barons have over Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil?
“Outbreaks in meat plants have accounted for one third of all workplace clusters.”
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said he believes public health authorities, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) and the HSE should be as transparent “as possible” in putting out details of where clusters are.
However, he warned about the risks of stigmatizing or identifying people or households: “I think it’s important at the same time that we’re careful about what we mean by that.
“A cluster can be two cases connected. So in putting out public information about clusters, we need to do so in a way that doesn’t end up stigmatizing people or doesn’t end up in a situation where individuals or individual households are identified.”