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Covid-19 Pandemic

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 April 2021

Wednesday, 21 April 2021

Questions (1995)

Brendan Griffin

Question:

1995. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health his views on the points raised in correspondence by a person (details supplied) in relation to mandatory hotel quarantine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19530/21]

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Written answers

Mandatory hotel quarantine has been introduced as one element of Ireland’s public health measures to combat the transmission of COVID-19 and to protect the population when there is a high risk of importation of infection from COVID-19 and from challenges posed by new variants of concern.

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 criteria used by the Expert Advisory Group to identify designated states include sustained human transmission of Covid-19 or any variant of concern or from which there is a high risk of importation of infection or contamination with Covid-19 or any variant of concern by travel from that state.

Arriving passengers (with limited exemptions) to the State from overseas from non-designated states, must observe a 14-day home mandatory quarantine at the address given on their Passenger Locator Form. A second ‘non-detected’ PCR test result taken no less than 5 days after arrival can end the quarantine period and this must be retained for a period of 14-days.

The list of designated states under the Health Act 1947 will be reviewed in line with the advice provided by the Expert Advisory Group on Travel (EAGT) to the Chief Medical Officer. The Chief Medical Officer considers EAGT recommendations and in turn makes recommendations to me when considering the designation of individual states.

The Act allows for travellers to request a review of decisions relating to their quarantine, provisions for leaving quarantine under exceptional circumstances (such as medical emergencies or for humanitarian reasons). The legislation does not prescribe a specific set of humanitarian reasons, the independent appeals officers will assess each application on its own merits and taking the prevailing public health guidance into account. Decisions in relation to reviews of quarantine are taken by a panel of independent appeals officers.

This process can commence once the passengers are in the designated mandatory quarantine facility and only for the limited reasons set out in the relevant legislation. 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.

In this context, regulations have been introduced to allow fully vaccinated persons arriving from designated states to be exempt from Mandatory Hotel Quarantine. However, this only applies to persons who are fully vaccinated with an EMA-approved vaccine and there will still be a requirement for them to quarantine at home following arrival into the State.

Neither myself or my Department have any role in deciding which persons must enter mandatory quarantine or which persons are exempt from entering mandatory quarantine. All such decisions are to be determined in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

The Government continues to advise against all non-essential international travel.

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