Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 May 2021
155. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Justice the number of fines levied for breaches of mandatory hotel quarantine since its inception; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23499/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware, the Government's response to the COVID 19 pandemic is led by my colleague, the Minister for Health. The Minister for Health has made a number of public health regulations under the Health Act 1947 (as amended), including a number of penal provisions which are designated as fixed charge offences.
I can confirm, however, that there is no fixed charge offence of 'failing to abide by the mandatory hotel quarantine requirement' under the current public health regulations. Therefore, no fixed charge offence fines have been issued for 'failing to abide by the mandatory hotel quarantine requirement'.
All passengers arriving into Ireland from designated states after 4am on the morning of Friday 26 March are required to pre-book accommodation in a designated quarantine facility, and to pre-pay for their stay.
When in mandatory quarantine, it is a criminal offence to act in a manner which endangers the life and health of any other person in the designated facility or to act with reckless disregard for the life and health of any other such person.
Any person convicted of the criminal offences noted above may face a fine of up to €2,000, or one month in prison, or both.
For the Deputy's information, details of the current level of Fixed Charge Penalties for breaches of the regulations issued by An Garda Síochána are regularly published on the Garda website. The relevant details and statistics are available at the following link:
https://www.garda.ie/en/about-us/our-departments/office-of-corporate-communications/news-media/press-release-re-covid-fines-30-04-2021.pdf
