Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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649. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if an exemption can be made for a two-year working holiday authorisation for a person (details supplied) in County Clare due to the Covid-19 pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32292/20]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Working Holiday Authorisations (WHAs) play an important role in building Ireland’s bilateral relations with Canada and a number of other non-European countries and regions with which we have reciprocal agreements, encouraging people-to-people contacts.

Due to the pandemic, we have temporarily ceased processing new applications under the Ireland-Canada WHA programme. Canada has likewise temporarily suspended the processing of applications. Our primary concern remains the health, welfare and well-being of those who would seek to travel to Ireland on a WHA. We do not expect that we will be in a position to process any further applications in 2020. Applications already submitted remain on file until operations resume. The Canadian citizen referred to by the Deputy is welcome to submit an application for a WHA to our Embassy in Ottawa, where it will be kept on file and processed once we have resumed operations. For further information and assistance on the application process, she may contact the Embassy at ottawaemexternalmail@dfa.ie.

We continue to monitor the rapidly evolving situation here, in Canada and in other relevant locations abroad, in terms particularly of public health advice, travel restrictions, job opportunities and the availability of short-term accommodation. We will instruct our Missions abroad, including the Embassy in Ottawa, to re-open the application process when circumstances allow young people to benefit from a working holiday here and to fully experience Ireland’s culture and way of life. We will also take account of the resumption of Canada’s working holiday arrangements. We will make a public announcement when we begin to process new applications.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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650. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide a definition for essential travel from Ireland to other EU markets, specifically, for France and Spain; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32625/20]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Foreign Affairs publishes Travel Advice for over 200 countries to provide an objective assessment of the risks individuals could face if travelling overseas, with a view to helping them to make informed decisions for themselves. It is based on consultation with our Embassies and Consulates on the ground, the relevant local authorities in each country and our international partners, together with our domestic partners where appropriate. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the priority of protecting public health, we have worked particularly closely with the Department of Health and the HSE.

The EU adopted a new co-ordinated approach to travel measures at the meeting of the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg on 13 October 2020. As already set out in the Living with COVID-19 Framework, the Government supports this effort to improve co-ordination within the Union and has made clear our intention to align with the new Recommendation. The Government has agreed that Ireland will implement this ‘traffic light’ approach to international travel, which applies to countries in the EU/EEA. The Department of Foreign Affairs advice for travel to these countries is now to ‘exercise a high degree of caution’. Our general advice for any other overseas travel remains ‘avoid non-essential travel’ or in some cases, ‘do not travel’. Any decision to travel to, stay in or leave a country is a responsibility of individual citizens and the Department is not in a position to deem individual trips to be essential or non-essential. Our detailed guidance is intended to help citizens make informed decisions for themselves when planning a trip overseas.

I can advise that, under the provisions of the EU Recommendation, travellers with an essential function or need should not be required to undergo quarantine while exercising their essential functions. These essential functions include:

-Workers or self-employed persons exercising critical occupations including health care workers, frontier and posted workers as well as seasonal workers as referred to in the Guidelines concerning the exercise of free movement of workers during the COVID-19 outbreak.

-Transport workers or transport service providers, including drivers of freight vehicles carrying goods

-Patients travelling for imperative medical reasons

-Pupils, students and trainees who travel abroad on a daily basis.

-Persons travelling for imperative family or business reasons

-Diplomats, staff of international organisations, military personnel and police officers, humanitarian aid workers and civil protection personnel carrying out their duties.

-Passengers in transit

-Seafarers

-Journalists when performing their duties.

Any person who wants to travel to other EU countries including France and Spain should inform themselves about any requirements in place in the destination to which they are travelling to. Testing restrictions may be imposed or may already be in place in other countries. Information on these restrictions is available on the Department’s website www.dfa.ie/travel/travel-advice/and the new reopen.europa.euwebsite.