James Lawless
Question:1886. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Health if he will address a matter in relation to mandatory hotel quarantine (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19249/21]
View answerWednesday, 21 April 2021
Questions (1886)
Written answers
The Health Act 1947, as amended, provides that all persons arriving in Ireland from a designated state, or having travelled through a designated state in the previous 14 days, are required to undergo mandatory quarantine in a designated facility unless they are an exempted traveller under the Act.
The designation of states will be subject to ongoing review in line with the provisions of the Act.
Mandatory hotel quarantine is also necessary in circumstances where passengers coming from non-designated states do not provide evidence that they have a negative or ‘not detected’ result from a COVID-19 Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test carried out no more than 72 hours before arrival into Ireland.
The provisions of the Act allows for travellers to request a review of decisions relating to their quarantine (independent appeals process); however this can only be undertaken once quarantine has begun and on a limited number of grounds. Public health will remain a paramount consideration. The State Liaison Officer (Irish Defence Forces) in the hotel provides passengers with information on how to apply.
The Government continues to evaluate wider policy on international travel as informed by the epidemiological situation and public health advice.
As of 17th April, travellers who are fully vaccinated with an EMA approved vaccine and have documents to prove vaccination are exempt. Fully vaccinated travellers are still required to have a negative pre-departure RT-PCR test and complete a period of self-quarantine at home or wherever specified in their passenger locator form.
Neither I as Minister for Health nor my Department have any role in decisions relating to whether individual persons must enter mandatory quarantine or whether individual persons are exempted travellers. All such decisions are to be determined in accordance with the provisions of the Act.