Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Minister of State and his colleagues and staff on the huge amount of work they have done in a short period. There are a number of matters I want to clarify. We had a meeting with Liz Canavan and her colleagues yesterday, at which Mr. Lowry was also present. The common travel area came up at that meeting. We have a lot of interconnection with the UK. Our understanding is that from 19 July, people from the UK who are fully vaccinated can fly here without any quarantine and children under the age of six are exempt. However, those between the ages of seven and 18, either from here or the UK, would not be vaccinated.

What will the position be with regard to them? It is a policy decision for the Government. Will the Minister of State provide clarification in that regard? He will understand the issues from a human dimension. If parents who are fully vaccinated are coming in from the UK with teenage children, those children will not be able to dine indoors and so on. Will the Minister of State provide some clarification?