Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The visa measures referred to by the Deputy are designed to support our current public health restrictions on movement, including into and out of Ireland. The travel restrictions and the measures introduced as part of the Government’s efforts to interrupt the transmission of COVID-19, mean that travel may not be possible and, even if possible, is not advisable unless absolutely essential. It is currently against the law for any person (regardless of nationality or passport) to travel within Ireland for non-essential purposes and people can be fined for doing so. 

The strong advice is that everyone, regardless of their nationality or visa/preclearance status, or where they started their travel from, who cannot provide proof of an essential purpose to travel to or within Ireland, should not travel to Ireland.

The framework for restrictive measures is set out in the Government’s Resilience and Recovery: Plan for Living with COVID 19. When making such decisions, the Government considers the expert public health advices of NPHET to tackle the disease.

I have reviewed the interim visa measures introduced on South American countries and South Africa and have decided to use my powers, under Section 17 of the Immigration Act 2004, to maintain these visa requirements after 5 March and until no longer needed for public health reasons. Further visa requirements may be introduced to other non-EEA countries in the future, where they are deemed necessary and appropriate, to support public health measures approved by the Government.