Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----but in the short time I have I will try to address some of the issues. One that Deputy Cullinane raised, which I think he is mentioning now, is incoming testing protocols. I do not think that is related to this Bill but to regulations coming in for broader testing. The short answer is the PCR test applies for those who are unvaccinated. The antigen test for 48 hours applies to those who are vaccinated and-or recovered. That covers the issue. If you are unvaccinated but you have confirmed Covid in, say, the past two or three months, you will have a Covid certificate because of that and then, as with someone who is vaccinated, you just use the antigen test. The public health advice I have is that is the pathway that works internationally.

There was a question of whether we could have exemptions for people who have already left the State, for example, who have travelled to a listed country when, say, quarantine comes in. These things can be examined. Last time, it was felt that would not be appropriate as their presence meant they had incurred the risk we were trying to manage.

I am out of time but I have taken note of the questions which, no doubt, will be raised again on Committee Stage, when we can give it all the time we can to address them.

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