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

The aim of any IT project is to make it delightful for the user. That is the final goal. A lot of people were delighted when they received their EU DCCs. It is a milestone. They got this thing that states that they are fully vaccinated and that gave them a feeling that they were moving on to the next stage.

On the Covid tracker app, we never wanted to force people or make people download it. A lot of people downloaded it but one does not have to use it for the EU DCC. It is just that so many people have it, we thought it would be a handy place to store it. We are not thinking of new users but of the existing user base. If one does not have it, one can still keep the EU DCC on one's phone or on paper.

On making indoor dining as simple and user friendly as possible, we have not been asked to assist with it but if we are then I am happy to help. Maybe Mr. Lowry has been asked about it so we will come to him in a second.

Lastly, I will go back to the Senator's original question about using the EU DCC with a carrier or ferry company at the earliest point. I have been passed a note by a colleague who tells me that he checked in with Aer Lingus and that he was chosen to test a system where Aer Lingus verifies one's EU DCC as part of a digital check-in. Aer Lingus seems to be close to having that system working. That is a positive step as well.