I propose to take Questions Nos. 1763, 1764, 1780, 1824, 2060, 2061, 2068 and 2102 together.
Countries are designated for the purposes of mandatory hotel quarantine under section 38E of the Health Act 1947 in my capacity as Minister for Health following consultation with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and other Minister(s) as appropriate having regard to the functions of that Minister(s).
An Expert Advisory Group on Travel to the CMO (EAGT) was established on 1 March 2021 to develop a method of risk assessing countries and to consider broader issues of travel and COVID-19. The EAGT considers factors including:
- Countries with prevalence or suspected prevalence of known variants of concern/ variants of interest.
- Countries with a very high 14-day incidence (500/100,000).
- Countries with a high 14-day incidence (greater than 2.5 times Ireland’s 14-day incidence but <500/100,000).
The Chief Medical Officer considers recommendations of the EAGT and in turn makes recommendations to the Minister for Health who makes the final decision regarding the designation of states.