Plans to increase the fine for international travel to € 2,000

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The Government seeks to increase fines for non-essential international travel from 500 to 2,000 euros.

Speaking at the Dáil, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that around 60% of international travelers arriving in Ireland are returning Irish tourists.

He told Labor’s Duncan Smith that “there is a feeling that € 500 is not a sufficient disincentive to travel abroad.”

The legislation will be presented for approval by the Cabinet next Tuesday to address the mandatory quarantine.

Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said the public health council will arrive this afternoon on which countries should be added to the mandatory quarantine list.

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Labor leader Alan Kelly said mandatory hotel quarantine must be introduced immediately.

Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, he said that it is not enough that several weeks pass for the legislation that is being introduced to go into effect.

Kelly said that “we have locked up our people three times to stay within 5 km of their homes, the choice going forward is whether we continue to do that or we quarantine the people who come.”

Earlier, the Deputy Secretary General of the Department of Taoiseach said that the number of Irish returning from holiday “is a very worrying statistic”.

In a press conference, Liz Canavan said that “while the total number of passengers is a small fraction of normal levels, below 3% for this time of year, more than half of the passengers arriving in the country are Irish residents and two-thirds of them return from vacation. “

She said that while everyone would love and need a vacation “now is not the time to travel,” and urged people to stay home unless they have to travel for a specific essential purpose.

Ms. Canavan said that anyone who arrives in Ireland without a negative PCR test is required to have one done upon arrival.

She said the regulations have also been amended so that the same rules and obligations in regards to testing and quarantine apply to those entering Ireland from abroad via Northern Ireland.



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