Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The public's response to this crisis has been impressive and because of that we are making progress. However, that progress is fragile, and a very real threat is posed at our ports. As the Minister said, one in three Dublin Airport passengers refused to fill out an optional form telling us where they planned to self-isolate. Passengers can waltz through our airports, claim they are travelling to Northern Ireland and not have to comply with any restrictions regardless of the threat they pose to the island. It is worth remembering that it is less than three months since the first passenger with Covid-19 travelled through Dublin Airport. A small number of passengers like this brought this virus to our shores. Less than three months later we now have more than 23,000 confirmed cases and, tragically, 1,500 deaths. Our way of life has come to a standstill.

Passengers coming into Ireland are at a trickle, but change is coming. Ryanair is gearing up to service nine out of ten of its routes and passenger numbers will soon soar again. Allowing an optional form govern people's responsibilities to self-isolate on arrival in Ireland is an insult. It is an insult to everyone who has spent weeks trapped in their homes, to our front-line workers who have been risking their health to protect and help others and to the families of the 1,488 people who have died from coronavirus. Is making a form obligatory, as the Minister has suggested, really enough? Do we not need emergency legislation to force passengers to provide the address where they will self-isolate and put a system in place to police that?

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