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

I thank the Deputy for raising those issues. The Government's view is very clear: people should not travel for non-essential reasons. There are very few reasons that people should travel. The Deputy is correct in saying that a significant number of people who have been travelling out of Ireland have, since the Christmas period, been going on holiday and coming back in. That clearly needs to stop and that is why there is additional enforcement at the ports and airports. Anybody who travels abroad is breaching level 5 rules and that is a fact. They are in breach of level 5 rules and that carries with it consequences. There will be an increase to the fixed penalty for breach of the rules relating to international travel, from €100 to €500. There will be increased Garda checks and enforcement activity relating to people travelling internationally who are in breach of level 5 rules, while the existing regulations relating to having to have had a PCR test prior to coming in will be extended to 5 March. The range of mandatory quarantine measures will also be introduced, some by means of regulation this week and others that will give us powers in respect of EU citizens will be dealt with through primary legislation. The principal Act has to be amended to enable action in respect of such citizens. Also, we will have the capacity under that legislation to extend the measures if we need to.

All aspects of human behaviour carry risk, including international travel in the context of variants, which we are obviously very concerned about. As already stated, prolonged suppression of the virus has to be our goal. The numbers are coming down, but once we get them down, we have to keep them there. The key to that is human behaviour, both on the island and through significant restriction of travel into the Republic, as well as additional measures for any violations of level 5 by citizens who travel from the North into the Republic. There will be measures in that regard as well to deal with that and to ensure there are no breaches of level 5 rules and obligations by Irish citizens in Northern Ireland who come over the Border.

Taken cumulatively, the significant range of measures will have an impact on travel. The requirement in respect of PCR tests has already resulted in a reduction in the numbers travelling into the country. There will always be a need for essential workers to travel into the Republic. The category of essential workers is being narrowed as well in order to reduce the numbers who can come into the Republic.

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