Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. There is an urgency to addressing this matter. We are speaking about potentially thousands of Irish citizens who, in good faith, took the vaccine their company or the country where they were working offered them. They received it and they want to be fully vaccinated. They want to follow the rules but they also want to be able to come home. It would be very unfair to force them into mandatory hotel quarantining. They may have received a WHO approved vaccine that has not yet been approved by the EMA. They are willing to take a PCR test. We have to create circumstances in which we can allow Irish people to come home. In advance of the autumn, we have to provide clarity for international students who are going to come here. It is an essential part of the higher education experience that we have international students in Ireland. I appreciate what the Minister is saying but with the digital Covid certificate coming into operation from next week, there is an urgency to this issue.