Staff at Ryanair who were tested for COVID-19 have raised concerns over how an outbreak of the virus at its headquarters was handled.
Internal communications told staff of a cluster in the office at Airside Business Park in Swords, North Dublin on December 9.
The HSE intervened and initiated testing at the site.
At least one staff member who was tested was told by a line manager to tell the HSE they had no close contacts in the office in the event of a positive result.
They were advised that names of individuals could not be provided to the HSE “due to GDPR purposes”.
If officials persisted with questions, the employee was directed to refer them to a senior manager.
The revelations a week after Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary accused public health chiefs in Ireland of causing “mass hysteria”.
A staff member said: “That room in particular, it’s big, but there’s no ventilation, the doors are always closed.
“Even the winter before COVID, one person in the room got sick and we all got sick. The ventilation is shocking.”
They said colleagues had been “freaked out” by the number of positive cases.
A staff memo sent in mid-December advised staff that “the majority of people in the Ops area” had tested negative.
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