Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

To reiterate, through the online portal, individuals will be asked to upload a copy of their Irish passport, upload their reliable proof of vaccination in the form of their Northern Ireland vaccination certificate, and give their consent to process the data for this specific purpose. I am open to correction on this but I would imagine that given the way it has happened here, one's certificate would either be sent by post or email and in the main they were emailed. As I said, each applicant must show proof of a valid Irish passport and of their vaccination certificate with a quick response, QR, code issued by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland. The service is also available to Irish passport holders who are cross-border workers and who have received their vaccination in Northern Ireland. Every effort is being made to ensure that these certificates will be issued in a timely manner.

While the expansion begins with Irish passport holders vaccinated in Northern Ireland, it does not end there. Teams are currently assessing vaccine certificates issues from third countries to support the application process. Specific requirements for vaccination proof will be published prior to the launch of the second phase on 21 October. At this point, applications will be accepted from the Irish diaspora far and wide. The new portal will enable Irish citizens abroad to apply for an EU digital Covid certificate so I hope that answers the Senator's question. It is a new portal and not the app that is already there and citizens can use this to ease their travel across the EU.

The Senator raised the issues of collaboration between the two Ministers and the possibility of advertisements. I will bring all those issues back and hopefully Senators have received some new information today. It takes time for anything new to bed down but it is a welcome move that this is happening.