Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Vaccine passports, Covid passports or EU digital green certificates, call them what you will, are the way forward. At this stage, the only way to look is forward. Looking backward or standing still is not an option. When viable solutions present themselves, we must grab them with both hands. These travel documents offer a solution to one of our main issues and will ultimately be a vital component in the universal quest for normality.

Following agreement by the Council of Ministers, EU member states, including Ireland, have been given a directive to introduce Covid certificates. The primary objective is to open up Europe to free movement. Ireland is obliged to comply with the directive but it is up to us to determine the criteria we lay down for the issuing of our certificates. It is this aspect that concerns me. This is not a matter on which we can dither. It requires swift and definitive action. It is not just about allowing people to jet off to the sun. It is about salvaging our aviation industry, hospitality industry and the economic vibrancy of our country.

Our approach to formulating our criteria cannot be restrictive. It must be as constructive and encompassing as it can possibly be. There cannot and must not be a delay in setting out the criteria. The EU system is expected to be functioning next month. Despite knowledge of this plan to introduce the key that will safely open Ireland up to the rest of Europe, we still do not know who is directing the formulation of our criteria.

Ireland cannot be the hurler on the ditch or last past the post on this. We are an island country. Travel is vital to our economy. It is crucial to our recovery. If Ireland is not ready to move with the first in Europe, we not only prolong the crippling effects of Covid on our aviation industry but we also risk running them out of the country. Last week we learned that Aer Lingus plans to close its cabin crew base at Shannon Airport. Ryanair has shown losses of €815 million in the 12 months to the end of March. It has already moved aircraft from Dublin to other European bases and publicly stated it will not be moving them back.

In the face of already-seen damage, why is Ireland not top of the queue to introduce digital green certificates? Why are we not shouting their benefits from the rooftops? Digital green certificates will be available to everyone: those who are vaccinated, those who can prove immunity after recent recovery from Covid and those who have a negative Covid Test. These certificates will be all-inclusive. Every man, woman and child falls into one of these categories. The production of a negative test will most likely be the most common way for a large portion of the Irish population. Those who are stuck between the first and second doses of AstraZeneca, those who are not vaccinated at all and children of all ages will rely on a negative test to travel. This test requirement has also portrayed Ireland in a less than favourable light. The Irish Travel Agents Association has revealed that it costs €160 to have a private PCR test in Ireland. In Spain it costs just €50. This anomaly must be factored into any criteria laid down by Ireland. So too must the use of antigen testing. The delays and lack of clear decision on this invaluable screening tool defies belief. Government has acknowledged its merits, as have business and education, yet health officials contradict the findings of the Government’s own chief scientific adviser, Professor Mark Ferguson, without providing any clear scientific grounds. Thus antigen testing remains the poor relation in Covid testing.

Ireland’s aviation industry is in tatters. Our hospitality sector is gasping for air. The Covid vaccine was our first ray of hope and it continues to be our ray of light. The European digital green certificates provide our next significant jump towards recovery. It is of critical importance that we take urgent action and that the Government brings forward clear an unambiguous criteria to embrace, implement and roll out the digital green certificate.

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