Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent)
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A the witnesses know, there have been 3.5 million reported cases of Covid-19 infection in the USA, with 77,000 new cases confirmed today. I have been calling for rapid testing at our airports for nearly two months, a call which has gone unheeded by the Government.

This can be done, and has been done, in various other countries throughout the world. The mandatory quarantine is not being enforced here. Visitors from high-risk countries are travelling freely around Ireland. This increases the likelihood of Covid-19 spreading and causing more devastation to our country and economy. Airports could remain open to visitors if we took certain measures. First, high-risk visitors should be tested before coming to Ireland. They should provide recent medical certificates showing they are free of Covid-19. Countries such as Austria and the Czech Republic are doing this. A traveller entering the United Arab Emirates must provide a negative Covid-19 test result, meaning no financial burden falls on that state.

Second, visitors who arrive without medical certificates should undergo mandatory testing at their own expense on arrival in Ireland. Some countries, such as Iceland, charge visitors a fee on arrival to cover tests. Many Irish people are scared to go to tourist areas in their own county this summer because they are worried that these areas are quickly becoming Covid-19 hotspots. Ensuring visitors are tested before arrival, or on arrival at their own expense, will help to protect Irish citizens without causing a significant burden on the State. Last Sunday I witnessed the strictness with which other countries apply their rules first-hand. I dealt with the case of a very ill young person whose parent had to fly to be at their bedside in America immediately. No matter how we tried, the parent could not fly out on Sunday as he had to be Covid-19 tested. He had to jump many more fences before he could be at his son's bedside. If that took place here, up until now the traveller would get a pat on the back and be left to it. A traveller fills in a form and we wish them the best of luck. Rapid testing should be done in our airports to reopen Ireland. It is a simple no-brainer. We need tourism to reopen in a meaningful way in south-west Cork. I can see the devastation caused by that not happening.

I refer to two short emails from some of my constituents. These are just two of the hundreds I have received in recent weeks. One constituent notes that it is surely madness to permit American tourists to fly into Ireland without enforcing the 14-day isolation rule. If it cannot be strictly enforced, my constituent states that the Government owes it to Irish citizens to stop them from entering the country. We have sacrificed so much during the lockdown, and to waste it all through unsupervised tourism is totally reckless. Irish people can be fined or jailed for breaking the Covid-19 laws but there is no penalty for tourists who refuse to quarantine.

The second email expresses concern about reports of American tourists entering and travelling around Ireland without any restriction. The reports suggest that none of them is isolating. My correspondent writes that this is an insult to the people of this country who went into lockdown. Thousands lost their jobs, but they did it willingly to protect the citizens of this country. My constituent believes that allowing visitors from the most infected country in the world to arrive on our shores is an absolute disgrace and, more important, it puts our front-line workers in danger. The Government must step up to the mark and either ban American tourists or put more stringent measures in place.

What advice should I give to people who send me messages like this on an ongoing basis? What are Mr. Cullen's thoughts on these opinions?