Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would love to give people certainty, but the only certainty we can give people is that this virus makes a mockery of our plans all the time. Nobody wants a third period of restrictions in January or February but the projections of the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, present that possibility. As we ease restrictions in the coming weeks, cases will rise and that may require us to reimpose restrictions in January and February. That is simply the truth. It is not scaremongering. I am being honest with people.

The other issue I would like to mention is there is no question of there being an outright travel ban between North and South. It is not under consideration and is not being discussed, period. We do not have a travel ban with Poland and we are certainly not going to have one with Northern Ireland. However, as we move from level 5 to level 3, which we hope to do next week, inter-county travel will still be restricted. It will only be allowed for work, school or essential purposes like caring for an elderly relative. Inter-county travel, including cross-Border travel, for shopping or for visiting friends and relatives will not be allowed. We hope to be in a position to advise people that they can travel between counties, including in Northern Ireland, to visit friends and relatives closer to Christmas but that will depend on the epidemiological data then. At the moment the rates of Covid-19 infection in Northern Ireland are much higher than they are here, but that might look very different in two weeks because restrictions are being reimposed there and relaxed here. We will make a decision on inter-county travel, including Northern Ireland, closer to Christmas.

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