Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

We work as fast as we can in the circumstances we are in. I will provide some examples. When the UK Government raised a concern about a new variant, the next day, we banned travel from the UK. I believe we were the third country to do this. Perhaps the Danes and the Belgians were an hour ahead of us in doing so. Our response was immediate. At the same time, I believe we were one of the first countries in Europe to require the completion of a PCR test 72 hours before arrival. We did this ahead of the UK Government and others. We do not always respond in lockstep. While it makes sense to follow a two-island strategy, in that case we were ahead. The French Government raised concerns about the new variant and demanded antigen testing for hauliers. We set this up within days and it has been running without any difficulty. It was a difficult thing to set up and turn around, but we did it.

As for concerns that have been raised about cross-border travel, I agree with the Deputy that we cannot completely seal off the Border. For example, someone who lives in Newry and works in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital or in Dundalk cannot be stopped from crossing the Border. One could think of a thousand such examples. There are those who have rightly pointed out that they were being restricted from travelling in the South but there was no provision in place to restrict others travelling from the North. In response, we immediately approached the Office of the Attorney General with a view to implementing a measure to impose fines in such cases. This was not easy from a legal perspective, but we did it.

To answer the Deputy's question on when quarantine measures will be put in place for those who arrive in the State without having completed a PCR test, the legislation will go to Government on Tuesday. It will then go straight to the Dáil. It depends on the business of the Dáil and there will need to be a vote on the legislation. It is something that is being worked out by the Business Committee. It will be done as soon as is possible. The legislation is not without complexity, and there are real concerns around civil liberties and other issues that we are seeking to get right. However, subject to the legislation being passed by this House, I imagine that it will be a matter of days following that, before it will be in place.

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