Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. It is important that we discuss this matter and the potential it offers us as an island nation.

There is undoubtedly a palpable degree of optimism and hope in the country at the moment, and we must do everything we can to protect it. The vaccination roll-out has created a sea of optimism that is capturing more people every day. The discussion around the prospect of booking foreign holidays is happening in more homes as each day passes. The prospect of our tourism industry welcoming back much-needed foreign visitors is also something that we need to discuss and for which we must plan. When the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Tony Holohan, states as he did yesterday that more than 30% of the adult population had been vaccinated with one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and that it was time to feel hopeful and start planning our summer, we must all sit up, take notice and begin planning.

However, in supporting the concept that is a European digital certificate, it is important that we debate the way such a certificate would work in practice and how it could adhere to and work within the public health advice, which we all must continue following in order to ensure that our country reopens up and we get out of this dreadful situation once and for all. There remain a number of questions on the use of this certificate. I appreciate that the Minister of State addressed some of them today, but it is essential that such a certificate is only used for travel purposes and can only be used while the pandemic continues. From what we know, the certificate will only contain a person's name, date of birth and details about whether he or she has been vaccinated, had a number of negative tests or recovered from the virus. It would take the form of a digital or paper copy, ensuring that all those who may want one can avail of it. The Minister of State outlined some of the concerns around how these data would be held. Equally important is the question of where it would be held. There are also concerns about freedom of movement, which is one of the bedrocks on which the EU is built.

Recently, I read that Ireland might not have the technology ready to implement this certificate as proposed in other states by the end of June. The Minister of State addressed this point. Notwithstanding that, he might let us know the cost of such technology, if that is known to him, and where we sit in terms of securing it. He might also let us know how far we are away from having it up and running, should this measure be passed by our State.

In welcoming the concept of a digital green certificate, it is important that we note the concerns of our tourism industry and aviation sector. The Irish tourism industry is facing its greatest ever crisis. The headline figures it is suffering are mind blowing. To cite just two of them, there has been a loss of €5.7 billion in earnings from overseas visitors and upwards of 160,000 jobs have been lost, with several hundred businesses facing permanent closure. The tourism and hospitality industry employed more than 265,000 people throughout the State. It was Ireland's largest indigenous employer, accounting for one job in nine. Some 70% of those employed in the tourism industry operate outside Dublin. Tourism has become the heartbeat of rural Ireland and a vital component of life there. The importance of a pandemic travel certificate to this industry cannot be underestimated. We need to secure as many of those jobs as possible.

I have spoken about protecting the optimism and hope that everyone in the country is experiencing. My party leader, Deputy Kelly, has continuously raised the important role that rapid antigen testing can play in protecting this country and ensuring that travel in and out of it can begin again and those in the industry can start planning. We should be considering the model used in the UK, where every household has been given seven free tests. In recent days, we have seen one of the largest retail outlets here beginning to stock rapid antigen tests on its shelves.

It is vital that we use some form of continuous testing, be that through an increase in the number of test centres popping up in hotspots around the country or some Government-led rapid antigen testing system, because we want to able to offer some form of tourism experience to those travelling into our country and to those of us on the island who will once again be domestic tourists this year.It is important for so many in our hospitality and tourism industry that we fight this pandemic in every way we can. We must ensure that the vaccination programme continues to be rolled out without any issues, that we develop a rapid antigen testing system, because it is in such an environment that a digital green certificate can work, and that any variants of this dreadful virus are found and isolated in the quickest time possible.

We support the urgent need for a properly thought-out and fit-for-purpose pandemic travel certificate. There is a lot of merit in the proposed digital green certificate that we can work with. The aviation industry in this country needs our support to get back to doing what it does best in transporting people to and from our island. I note from my engagements with many in the tourism industry here and from the new RTÉ programme, "Open for Business", which aired last night, that the tourism industry is looking for some form of certainty so that businesses can plan and take back the valued employees that so many of them had to let go when this pandemic first struck.

The digital green certificate can make a difference. It can be supported. We need to ensure that the momentum and the hope mentioned by the Chief Medical Officer and others is maintained. We look forward to discussing and debating the content of the certificate that will be proposed by the Government, its extent and purpose. Most important, we all look forward to the time when we can travel again in normal circumstances.