Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 5 May 2021
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport
Challenges Facing Travel Agents and the Aviation Sector: Discussion
Mr. Paul Hackett:
That is a very good question. Over 200 statutory instruments have been enacted this year alone and, as we all know, they do not require a vote. If anything, it is evidence as to how controlled and limited international travel is now. We are where we are and we must move on. What we need is a plan to have these unwound. We need a date on which it will no longer be illegal to travel to an airport or port and no longer subject to a €2,000 fine now that we have inter-county travel resuming next week. The reality is they have all been enacted under the Health Acts. Unfortunately, I have a page with the list, which I could share with the committee, and it does not make for pleasant reading. Ireland is an outlier due to how we have managed international travel. We are hearing that again because we had the French ambassador on the radio this morning and the Italian ambassador was on the radio last week. We are losing friends in Europe and beyond over the list.
No comments