Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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2085. To ask the Minister for Health if there are exemptions to persons being charged for mandatory hotel quarantine; if so, the exemptions; the body to which a person can apply for the exemption; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36505/21]

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. 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, regardless of the duration of stay in these countries, are required to undergo mandatory quarantine in a designated facility unless they are an exempted traveller under the Act or have been vaccinated with an EMA approved vaccine.

The Health (Amendment) Act 2021 identifies those who are exempt from mandatory hotel quarantine and a full list of exemptions can be accessed on gov.ie/quarantine.

A procedure is in place with the Department of Foreign Affairs Missions for deferrals of prepayment for Irish citizens and residents abroad in hardship circumstances. Irish citizens and residents who wish to make an application for deferral of fees relating to mandatory hotel quarantine should contact their local Irish Embassy or Consulate. Contact details for Embassies and Consulates are available at Embassies - Department of Foreign Affairs (dfa.ie).

Once in quarantine, guests can also contact the State Liaison Official (SLO) in the hotel and request a deferral of payment which may be granted where the SLO is satisfied that the traveller concerned is unable to pay the charges while in the facility. Please note, however, that this is a deferral of payment and not waiver or exemption.

Where a traveller has been granted an authorisation to defer the payment they can subsequently apply to the Minister for an exemption from the obligation to pay the charge specified.

The Government continues to evaluate wider policy on international travel as informed by the epidemiological situation and public health advice, including the possibility of future exemptions.