[ad_1]
The ban on travel from Britain to Ireland cannot continue “forever and a day” and will be replaced in the New Year with more specific restrictions, Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said.
The government introduced a ban on travel on flights and ferries from Great Britain to Ireland until December 31 in light of fears around a mutant strain of Covid-19 that could be more contagious.
In recent days, some “repatriation” flights have been organized to bring home citizens who were found stranded in light of the Government’s announcement.
“We had to have an emergency response to the announcement from the UK government on Saturday night and on Sunday afternoon we had our emergency response, we were going to have to shut down, ban travel and stop flights etc.
“But that approach cannot go on forever and one day because we have to manage our entire gamut of other priorities. So what we will probably do is introduce more detailed regulations on all travel so that we do it in a very safe way.
“This is what the European Commission recommends. They say that instead of having a total ban in all areas, it is regulated for specific circumstances. “
‘Not factible’
Mr. Ryan indicated that it would not be feasible to continue the ban for a variety of different reasons.
“If you look at the papers, there was a repatriation flight (Tuesday night) and I was interested in the reports coming out of it. The first lady was someone whose son had died and she buried him in London, so let’s say for the duration of this that her son cannot be buried under such circumstances.
“We want to get the protocols and safe ways to do it, but there will be incidents where people have to do it.
“I’ll give you another example, a very practical example, on the energy side, we require expert engineers to come in regularly to maintain and service our power plants.
“That is just one example that I know of. I’m dealing with it because it’s on my desk.
“On a regular basis, we have emergency workers that you have to have here because they maintain vital infrastructure.”
The Minister said that at a recent meeting of the International Transport Federation last month, it was apparent from discussions with other countries that Ireland has witnessed “one of the largest reductions in travel” to the country.
“In the next two or three months we will have to keep those essential workers and those essential reasons for which there will be travel, but very strictly regulated for health reasons.”
[ad_2]