Seanad debates

Monday, 31 May 2021

Health (Amendment) Act 2021: Motion

 

10:30 am

Photo of Stephen DonnellyStephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I had some closing remarks but instead I might address the points raised. I ask Members to bear with me as I go back and forward through some of the technical notes. I will start with the appeals process and exemptions. There were quite a few questions on that. The exemptions that were in the Act are as follows: those holding an annex 3 certificate, that is those ensuring the availability of goods and essential services; those arriving in the State who are heavy goods vehicle drivers, airline pilots, air crew, maritime crew arriving and performing their duties; travel to the State pursuant to an arrest warrant, extradition of another mandatory legal obligation; members of An Garda Síochána or the Defence Forces in the course of their duties; travelling to the State for unavoidable, imperative and time-sensitive medical reasons certified by a medical practitioner; and having been outside the State to perform the functions of an office holder, which would cover this House, diplomats and other categories of persons in that realm.

The Act also empowers the Minister for Health to add exemptions based on statutory instrument and what has been added is as follows: an exemption for passengers transiting through an Irish port or airport; an exemption for athletes competing in international events; an exemption for new born infants born abroad returning to the State with their families; an exemption for travellers who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19; an exemption for travellers coming back after receiving unavoidable, imperative and time-sensitive medical treatment together with their carers and-or dependants; and an exemption for travellers providing essential services to the State. Those are the original and the added exemptions.

There was a related question on appeals. The figures are as follows and these are from 26 May: there have been 1,563 appeals of which 175 have been granted. As of 20 May, the breakdown for what at the time was 157 granted appeals is as follows: 62 individuals were exempt, either because of a vaccine, a PCR test or some other reason for exemption. Two of the appeals related to individuals who had completed quarantine. Essentially, that was related to getting a PCR test and leaving before check-out. One appeal was in respect of an individual who had a negative PCR test after quarantining. Some 50 appeals were granted for medical and exceptional grounds and 42 appeals were granted on humanitarian grounds. They are the figures on appeals.

There were several questions on the digital Covid certificate and how it will work. We are working through the details of that and it is entirely possible we will be back here discussing it soon. Essentially, while I am seeking approval from the Seanad today for an extension for hotel quarantine to 31 July, what will happen is that on 19 July there will be a co-ordination between home quarantine, mandatory hotel quarantine and the digital Covid certificate. Many details on that are being worked through and member states have different choices in how that will be implemented.I imagine that, whatever portion of mandatory hotel quarantine is left, we will seek to extend it beyond 31 July on the basis that the variants of concern will still exist. From 19 July, the public health advice about non-essential travel will be lifted, so people can travel. If they qualify based on the digital Covid certificate, they can travel unimpeded, so when they come home, there will be no hotel quarantine, PCR test requirement or home quarantine. They can simply go about their business.

I will address how the digital Covid certificate will operate from Ireland's perspective. It is about passengers coming into Ireland. What passengers do on their way out is a matter for the countries they are going to, so we will not have any requirements regarding people leaving the country. The regulation relating to non-essential travel will be lifted. It is all about what happens for people who are coming back into the country. The first category is people arriving from EU or EEA countries. There are three qualifying criteria. One is that they are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. The second is that they have recovered from Covid-19 in the past nine months, so they have a lab-confirmed test result in the past nine months. The third is to have a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before arrival to the State.

The second group is for countries outside the EU and EEA, if coming from a country that does not have an emergency brake. "Emergency brake" is the European language being used at the moment for what we have listed as category 2 countries, if someone is coming from outside the EU or EEA and it is not deemed to be one of the high-risk countries. If a passenger has valid proof of vaccination, no travel-related testing or quarantine is required. If the passenger does not have valid proof of vaccination, he or she needs to present evidence of a negative PCR test within 72 hours prior to arrival, self-quarantine, which is essentially home quarantine, and then undergo post-arrival testing, which is the day five test.

The third category is people coming in from or having gone through countries in the past 14 days that are outside the EU but to which the EU has applied the emergency brake. If a passenger has valid proof of vaccination, he or she needs to produce a negative three-day preflight PCR test, undergo self-quarantine at home, and then undergo the day five test. If a passenger does not have proof of vaccination, he or she needs to produce evidence of a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before arrival and to undergo mandatory hotel quarantine and post-arrival testing. That third category is the case where we envisage the hotel quarantine remaining in effect. It essentially applies to non-EU, non-EEA countries that have been designated with the so-called emergency brake, where a person is not fully vaccinated. In that case a hotel quarantine is required. It is also required in cases where the preflight PCR test is required and people arrive without it, but for a short period. They would tend to be tested the day they arrive or the next day, get the results, and then leave. That is how Ireland proposes to participate in the digital Covid certificate.

There was a question about ability to pay. I confirm to colleagues that 157 certificates have been issued, so in those cases that fee has been waived or deferred using a certificate issued by our embassy or consular office abroad.

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