Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That said, the Leader of the Opposition suggested I was at odds with the Tánaiste, which I am not, but I have to put it to the Deputy that she seems to be at odds with herself. I am clear that the safest thing to do is not to travel. That is the clear message. We are saying to people to holiday at home this year. We have in respect of those 15 countries applied the normal precautions appellation with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which basically means that when people return home, they will not have to restrict their movements.

The Deputy and her party had a view that it was okay to open up the island to 59 countries. That is a fact. The Northern Ireland Executive signed up a fortnight ago to an opening up of the island. We are taking a much more conservative approach here. All of the 15 countries would have fewer than five infected persons in 100,000. They are actually safer right now, if I use that phrase, or have a lower incidence, to be more accurate, then we do here in the Republic. I did point that out and I understand that there are different jurisdictions and all of that, but this was signed off on by Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland. That has to be said. I am still willing to work constructively to see how we can protect the island, because it raises challenges for us.

We decided last evening to move the passenger locator form to an electronic basis. The key, if we are honest, is testing and contact tracing. That remains the gold standard in trying to suppress the virus. The timing of the engagement, the quicker one can contact the person who may be a contact of someone who has tested positive for Covid-19, is the key response to determine our future capacity to keep on top of the virus.

I also make the point, and it has to be said, that in the first 12 days of July 2019, we were looking at 1.469 million people arriving in through Dublin Airport. The figure this July is about 134,000 people. There has been a lot of hype and concern about travel. I acknowledge the concern but we need to keep it in perspective. There has been a 91% drop in travel through Dublin Airport in the first 12 days of July between this year and last year. The issue, as I said yesterday, is how we live with Covid-19 over the next 12 to 15 months in the absence of a vaccine being discovered. That is something that should exercise all of us in this House in terms of the broader challenges facing society.

See this speech in context