A special meeting of the Government working group on emergency planning is to be held tomorrow to discuss the bird flu threat.
The inter-departmental group will be briefed on the most recent preparations made by the Departments of Agriculture and Health to deal with a possible outbreak of the H5N1 virus in Ireland.
Labour spokeswoman on agriculture Dr Mary Upton; shae said today that the Government should follow France's lead and reassure the public that chicken and poultry products remain safe to eat
The body is comprised of 20 officials from Government departments and public authorities with roles in emergency plans, including the Health Service Executive, and is chaired by Willie O'Dea in his role as chairman of the office of emergency planning .
But this arrangement was criticised by Labour spokeswoman on agriculture Dr Mary Upton today.
"Why is Minister O'Dea taking the lead on this matter?" she said. "What we need is the immediate establishment of a biosecurity unit to plan for the arrival of bird flu and to take necessary measures.
"Instead, we have had a whole range of Ministers from the Minister of Health, Minister for the Environment, Minister for Agriculture, and now the Minister for Defence, taking individual initiatives."
Dr Upton added that the Government should follow France's lead and reassure the public that chicken and poultry products remain safe to eat.
Meanwhile, some 80 calls were received by the Department of Agriculture's bird flu hotline yesterday.
Speaking to ireland.com, a spokesman for the department said that, as with every case of potential animal disease, all calls are investigated and, if necessary, on-call vets collect the birds and bring them to the department's regional laboratories for examination.
Although no exact figure is available, the spokesman said that "scores" of birds have been collected for examination this week.
If a one-day examination determines there is a chance the birds may have H5NI-type avian flu, a sample is sent to the EU central laboratory in Weybridge, England.
Over 300 birds have been tested at the department's regional laboratories so far this year, but no samples have yet been referred to Weybridge.