Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 January 2021
117. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Transport the measures to be undertaken by Irish citizens wishing to return from abroad who have had a positive Covid-19 test result but who are now outside of the 10-day isolation period with the relevant paperwork to correlate; the procedure and person or body the persons should contact in such a scenario; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3860/21]
View answer166. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Transport his plans to implement additional restrictions on persons travelling from abroad; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4476/21]
View answer167. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Transport if there are adequate measures in place at each airport and port to implement the restrictions on persons travelling into Ireland; the additional measures that will be introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4477/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 117, 166 and 167 together.
With effect from 16 January 2021, all passengers arriving into Ireland (unless exempt) are required to have a evidence of a negative or ‘not detected’ result from a pre-departure COVID-19 RT-PCR test that was carried out no more than 72 hours prior to arrival in Ireland. Passengers are asked to present evidence of their negative/‘not detected’ result before boarding their airplane and will be denied boarding if they cannot produce such evidence or do not claim to fall into an exempt category. If a citizen has a genuine humanitarian emergency requiring urgent travel, they should contact the nearest Embassy or Consulate immediately for advice and consular assistance before commencing their journey.
On 26 January, the Government agreed to introduce a number of measures aimed at reducing the risk that international travel may pose. It was noted that non-essential international travel is in breach of Level 5 rules, and the measures introduced include an increase to the fixed penalty for breach of the rules relating to international travel. The measures also include increased Garda checks and enforcement activity relating to people travelling internationally who are in breach of Level 5 rules.
The Government also agreed the existing regulations requiring pre-departure PCR tests will also be extended to 5 March. A range of mandatory quarantine measures will be introduced, applying to all international arrivals. Mandatory quarantine at a designated facility will be required for passengers who arrive in breach of the pre-departure negative/'not detected' PCR requirement, and for those who arrive from Brazil and South Africa. In other cases, passengers will be required by law to quarantine at home. Application of these measures to passengers who are not EU/EEA citizens can be introduced by regulations. For all other passengers, it will be necessary to amend primary legislation. The detailed legislative work to implement this will get under way immediately.
The Government is keeping all measures relating to international travel under review.
