Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to demonstrate that the Department is fully committed to advancing consideration of the proposal. We will continue our engagement on the proposal and we will consider it in the context of the Government's travel policy. We will endeavour to ensure that every effort is made to achieve alignment across the EU, where possible, in preparing for a reopening of travel for non-essential purposes as soon as it is safe to do so.

It is imperative for us that any such framework has a sound scientific and ethical grounding to ensure that the sacrifices made by everyone throughout the pandemic are not undermined. Therefore, we will continue to give careful consideration to the proposal and its impact across a number of sectors in Ireland and the EU. The Government has worked strenuously with its EU colleagues throughout this pandemic to ensure co-ordination and alignment, where possible, and we are committed to continuing the positive and effective partnership in considering this proposal further.

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