Emer Currie (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Senator said, this online portal is good news for Irish passport holders who were vaccinated in the North whereby they can apply for an EU digital Covid certificate. I, too, have technical questions.

What is the proof of vaccination that is required from the North? The Northern Ireland Covid vaccination certificate is issued by the Northern Ireland Department of Health so one must go through that portal process initially to get official proof of vaccination from the North. That comes from the nidirect.gov.ukwebsite. One acquires that first and it is that quick response, QR, code, one's second QR code, that one uses to apply through the portal,covidcertificateportal.gov.ie, for the EU digital certificate. I believe one must go through two portals and I am seeking confirmation of that. Is there a way to make it any easier? As my colleague said, the Northern Ireland Covid certificate is only for three months.

Some people think that if one just takes a picture of one's QR code and uploads it onto the Covid app, that is that. However, it is not as simple as that. We have to be very clear about that because it is all over social media. This has a big impact for cross-Border workers. There is a great deal of confusion so we must have very clear information. I believe it is where one received one's second vaccine that determines where one applies to gets one's proof of vaccination.

I have another question. Although this is a facilitator, one still has to check the requirements for the country to which one is travelling and then the requirements for when one is returning. I believe the reopen.europa.euwebsite is the best place to check that information. Perhaps the Minister of State will confirm that because I have encountered some confusion about whether somebody can travel from Belfast or Derry airports or whether it must be Dublin.

There are many technical questions. We had them when the EU digital certificate launched and we have them now. The more information the Minister of State can give to us to get the word out, the better.