Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 14 July 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport

Implementation of the EU Digital Covid Certificate: Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

Photo of Ossian SmythOssian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The European Commission has advised that we check as early as possible in the process. Ideally, it would be at the point where a person gets the electronic passenger locator form or at online check-in. The worst case would be where everybody is being checked at the destination country and lines are building up at immigration. The intention is that everybody will be checked pre-departure but there will only be spot checks at the immigration desk at the destination airport. Those are the two lines of checks. In the same way that the carriers check passports or visas because passengers leave, since they do not want to bring passengers to a destination where they are not accepted, they will also check Covid status. With that in mind, the agency has been working with the carriers and ferry companies and has been on site with them in the past weeks to work out a practical way for this to work. The Chairman has invited me to give a written description of this and I am happy to submit that.

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