Written answers

Wednesday, 27 May 2020

Department of Justice and Equality

Covid-19 Pandemic

Photo of Louise O'ReillyLouise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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377. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of passengers who arrived through airports and seaports to date in May 2020; and the number who filled out a public health passenger locator form. [8177/20]

Photo of Charles FlanaganCharles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The passenger numbers for arrivals into Irish Airports and Seaports for May 2020 set out below have been provided by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.

It should be noted that there will be a variance in the total passenger numbers versus the number of Public Health Passenger Locator Forms collected. This is due to the different data collection methods used by both Departments and that one Public Health Passenger Locator form may be used by family units/groups who intend to self-isolate together.

The Passenger arrivals data for airports from 1 May 2020 to 22 May 2020 are as follows:

Airport Passenger Arrivals
Dublin 11,671
Cork 657
Shannon 8
Kerry 55
Donegal 62
Total 12,453

The precise total passenger arrivals into Irish Sea Ports are not available at this time. However the weekly combined totals of arriving and departing passenger were provided by the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) up to 17 May. These are total passenger numbers on the Central, Southern and Continental routes. These figures are outlined below and represent combined arrival and departure numbers. On average, there tends to be an even divide between arrival and departure numbers but a precise breakdown will be available from the Central Statistics Office in the coming weeks.

For the information of the Deputy, an explanation of the route corridors is as follows:

- Central corridor (sailings from Dublin to Heysham, Liverpool and Holyhead)

- Southern Corridor (sailings from Rosslare to Pembroke and Fishguard)

- Continental Corridor (sailings from Ireland to the European Continent)

For the duration of the crisis the CSO will be publishing monthly Air and Sea Travel Statistics . The March figures were released on 13 May 2020. This release will publish the total number of persons arriving in Ireland from overseas and departing Ireland for overseas destinations. This information will be broken down by mode (air or sea), route (cross-channel, continental, etc.,) and staging country.

Total Passengers departing and arriving at Irish Sea Ports

Date Range 27 April to 3 May 4 May to 10 May 11 May to 17 May
Central 1,433 1,871 2,380
Southern 345 411 788
Continental 455 695 1,133
Total 2,234 2,977 4,301

Border Management Unit Immigration Officers at Dublin Airport, on behalf of the Health Authorities, commenced recording Passenger Locator Forms on 28 April 2020. These contacts were made as part of public health passenger checks under measures related to the Covid-19 pandemic. BMU currently only collect the Passenger Locator forms for Dublin Airport. The Garda National Immigration (GNIB) manage the compliance for the other ports after which the Passenger Locator forms are forwarded to the BMU in Dublin Airport, who also carry out the follow-up calls for those ports.

Dublin Airport:

The table below gives a breakdown of the total expected forms and the number completed during the period 01 May 2020 to 23 May 2020. It should be noted that the number of arrivals differs from the number of expected forms due to the fact that only one form is required per family.

Dublin Airport 01/05/20 - 23/05/20
Total Expected Forms* 10,875
Completed Forms Received 7,799
*only one form completed per family

Other Ports:

Forms for Other Ports are delivered to BMU at Dublin Airport for follow up action. As mentioned, BMU hold no records of the numbers of arrivals (expected forms). The data below includes numbers of forms received by BMU for follow-up action and of them the number who were exempt and therefore no follow-up action was required.

Dublin Port 28/04/2020 - 21/05/2020
Total Forms Received by BMU 6,044
Exempt 5,171
Percentage Exempt 86%

Rosslare Port 01/05/2020 - 19/05/2020
Total Forms Received by BMU 1,545
Exempt 1,273
Percentage Exempt 82%

Cork Airport 29/04/2020 - 19/05/2020
Total Forms Received by BMU 391
Exempt 112
Percentage Exempt 29%

Photo of Louise O'ReillyLouise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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378. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the level of compliance of passengers that arrived here in filling out the public health passenger locator form since it was introduced; the number that filled it in; the number that refused; and the number exempt as a total of the number of passengers that have arrived. [8178/20]

Photo of Charles FlanaganCharles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I can inform the Deputy that Border Management Unit Immigration Officers at Dublin Airport, on behalf of the Health Authorities, commenced recording Passenger Locator Forms on 28 April 2020. These contacts were made as part of public health passenger checks under measures related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Two calls are made to passengers following their arrival into the State, providing a Public Health Passenger Locator Form is completed. The calls are to confirm that the passenger is still residing at the address they provided on the form and to confirm if the passenger is self-isolating. Passengers are required to self-isolate for 14 days after they arrive into the State, and this includes Irish Residents.

The first call is made two days after the person’s arrival in the State. The second call is made twelve days after their arrival and where the person has indicated that their stay in Ireland would be for more than twelve days.

It is important to note that the BMU currently only collect the Passenger Locator forms for Dublin Airport. The Garda National Immigration (GNIB) manage the compliance for the other ports after which the Passenger Locator forms are forwarded to the BMU in Dublin Airport, who also carry out the follow-up calls for those ports.

At this time, the only data available that addresses all the questions raised by the Deputy refers to Dublin Airport. However, I have included data on the number of forms received and the percentage exempt for other Ports. We are unable to provide arrivals figures (expected forms) or numbers on those who refused to complete the form for other Ports. That information is being gathered from GNIB and will be forwarded to the Deputy when available.

Dublin Airport:

It should be noted that the number of actual arrivals differs from the number of expected forms due to the fact that only one form is required per family. Therefore the table below gives a breakdown of the total expected forms and of them the number that were completed and the number who refused to complete. The number exempt did complete a form but were exempt from the follow-up action and the requirement to self-isolate. The period covers 28 April 2020 up to 21 May 2020 inclusive and represents a compliance rate of more than 98%.

Dublin Airport 28/04/2020 - 21/05/2020
Arrivals (Expected Forms) 10,173
Completed Forms Received 7,182
% Forms Compliance 71%
Passenger Declared No Form Provided by Airline 2,779
Language Barrier 26
Refused to Complete Form 186
Percentage Exempt of Completed Forms 2367 (33%)

Other Ports:Forms for Other Ports are delivered to BMU at Dublin Airport for follow up action. As mentioned, BMU hold no records of the numbers of arrivals (expected forms) nor the number who refused to complete the forms for other ports. The data below includes numbers of forms received by BMU for follow-up action and of them the number who were exempt and therefore no follow-up action was required. The returns from other Ports are often inconsistent and therefore we are unable to provide data for Shannon Airport. In addition the period for each Port differs due to the logistics of the forms arriving from each location.

Dublin Port 28/04/2020 - 21/05/2020
Total Forms Received by BMU 6,044
Exempt 5,171
Percentage Exempt 86%

Rosslare Port 01/05/2020 - 19/05/2020
Total Forms Received by BMU 1,545
Exempt 1,273
Percentage Exempt 82%

Cork Airport 29/04/2020 - 19/05/2020
Total Forms Received by BMU 391
Exempt 112
Percentage Exempt 29%

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