Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Tánaiste could not be here today, but he was on the "Pat Kenny Show" on radio, basically telling us that new restrictions will be coming in in respect of social mixing, contact tracing and international travel. Days are important. I ask the Government to meet tomorrow night rather than on Friday to make decisions. With international travel, for instance, the EU Commission is proposing that from 15 January, the maximum validity of a Covid certificate will be nine months. Therefore, anyone who has a certificate valid from before 15 April 2021 will not be able to travel. It is important information. France has gone a step further and is already preventing those aged over 65 from boarding trains or accessing hospitality services unless they are triple vaxxed. Big decisions have to be made here. Most importantly, I ask the Minister to assure the House now that Covid certificates, which we all have on our phones, will incorporate the third vaccine. If the infrastructure is not there on our phones and certificates, soon people will not be able to travel, particularly across Europe.

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