Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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978. To ask the Minister for Health the expenditure incurred for HSE nursing homes in the management of Covid-19 to date; the geographical distribution of the funding; and the number of HSE nursing homes that have received funding. [21662/21]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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As this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health service executive to respond to the deputy directly as soon as possible.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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979. To ask the Minister for Health when the restrictions on maternity hospitals will be lifted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21666/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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980. To ask the Minister for Health if it is possible for a pregnant Irish citizen working in Dubai who plans to travel from Dubai in June 2021 and has been advised by their medical team not to have a vaccine to avoid the mandatory hotel quarantine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21667/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Mandatory hotel quarantine has been introduced as one element of Ireland’s public health measures to combat the transmission of COVID-19 variants of concern.

The Health Act 1947, as amended, provides that all persons arriving in Ireland from a designated state, or having travelled through a designated state in the previous 14 days, are required to undergo mandatory quarantine in a designated facility unless they are an exempted traveller under the Act. All applicable travellers must reserve and pay for a place in mandatory hotel quarantine.

Mandatory hotel quarantine is also necessary in circumstances where passengers coming from non-designated states do not provide evidence that they have a negative or ‘not detected’ result from a COVID-19 Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test carried out no more than 72 hours before arrival into Ireland. 

The provisions of the Act allow for travellers to request a review of decisions relating to their quarantine in a designated facility; however, this can only be undertaken once quarantine has begun. Requests for review are submitted to the State Liaison Officer present in each designated facility and are considered by independent appeals officers. Decisions on requests for review are provided within a 24-hour period. The State Liaison Officer (Irish Defence Forces) in the hotel provides passengers with information on how to apply.

The Act identifies those who are exempt from mandatory hotel quarantine, and a full list of exemptions can be accessed on gov.ie/quarantine.  

Exemptions for medical reasons pertain to a person who travels to the State for an unavoidable, imperative and time sensitive medical reason and that reason is certified by a person who is a registered medical practitioner or a person holding an equivalent qualification outside the State. Applicable travellers must produce all relevant documentation on arrival to qualify for an exemption. 

The safety, wellbeing and comfort of all guests quarantining in a designated facility is a priority of the mandatory quarantine system, along with protecting people living in Ireland from COVID-19 variants of concern.

All guests undergoing mandatory hotel quarantine have access to a 24/7 on-site healthcare team during their stay. Guests requiring any specific, urgent or emergency care which cannot be provided on-site may also be referred to a dedicated medical facility by the on-site healthcare team.

Neither I as Minister for Health nor my Department have any role in decisions relating to whether individual persons must enter mandatory quarantine or whether individual persons are exempted travellers. All such decisions are to be determined in accordance with the provisions of the Act.