Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 April 2021
845. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health if a person travelling to a country on the quarantine list for surgery can obtain an exemption from mandatory quarantine; if so, the way they apply for same; if their carer can apply for an exemption; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21143/21]
View answerMandatory hotel quarantine has been introduced as one element of Ireland’s public health measures to combat the transmission of COVID-19 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. All applicable travellers must reserve and pay for a place in mandatory hotel quarantine.
The Act identifies those who are exempt from mandatory hotel quarantine and a full list of exemptions can be accessed on gov.ie/quarantine.
An exemption from mandatory quarantine on medical grounds is possible only where a person is travelling to Ireland for an unavoidable, imperative and time sensitive medical reason, which is certified by a registered medical practitioner. It does not apply to a situation where a person is returning to Ireland after treatment abroad.
Medical services are available at all times in designated facilities, to ensure the health and wellbeing of every person in quarantine. If a person has medical emergency while in quarantine, it is also possible to be transferred to a hospital for treatment.
There is also a possibility for a person in quarantine to apply for review of their quarantine on medical grounds. One of the permissible grounds for appeal is ‘for medical or other exceptional reasons, including the necessity of providing care for any vulnerable person’.
Requests for review are submitted to the State Liaison Officer present in each designated facility and are considered by independent appeals officers. Decisions on requests for review are provided within a 24-hour period.
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 be a requirement to quarantine at home following arrival into the State. Passengers who are fully vaccinated are also required to provide a negative pre-departure RT-PCR test taken in the 72 hours pre-departure and to complete a period of self-quarantine at home or wherever specified in their passenger locator form.
The following table sets out the definition of ‘fully vaccinated’;
|
Type of Vaccine |
You are regarded as fully vaccinated after |
|
Pfizer-BioNtech |
7 days after 2nd dose |
|
Moderna |
14 days after 2nd dose |
|
Oxford-AstraZeneca |
15 days after 2nd dose |
|
Johnson & Johnson/Janssen |
14 days after single dose |
Neither I as Minister for Health nor my Department have a 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.
Further information can be accessed on gov.ie/quarantine.
