US not on green list of safe travel countries while UK 'unlikely' - Coveney

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney TD arriving for the Dail sitting at the Convention Centre Dublin. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has said that the US will definitely not be on the green list of countries to which it is deemed safe to travel while the UK is unlikely to be on the list.

The list is being compiled on the basis of epidemiological data, he told Newstalk’s Pat Kenny show.

“Just to explain how we're going to calculate the threshold which will determine whether a country is on the green list or not. This is not on the basis of politics, it's on the basis of epidemiological data and numbers so that we can compare Ireland with other countries and then we can put countries on a green list that we regard as representing no higher risk than Ireland represents. In other words, travelling to one of these countries is no different than going to Kerry or Connemara or Donegal for your holidays. I think that is what we're trying to do here.” 

Mr Coveney further explained that the Government, following public health advice, has to make a judgement call as to what R number is regarded as relatively safe, and then apply that to all countries.

“On that basis, the US will not be on the green list and it is very unlikely our closest neighbour will be under that threshold that we set, that's really unfortunate. The two countries that we'd like to open up to in terms of international travel are the UK and the US given the integration between our economy and those two countries and of course the number of visitors that would like to come here, to spend money in hotels and have holidays here and so on.” 

Passengers just off flights at Dublin airport filling out Passenger Locator Forms before going through immigration.Pic Gary Ashe

Mr Coveney said that US tourists are not free to come in to the country without responsibility - there is a reason why the numbers coming from the US are down between 96 and 98 per cent of what they normally would be so only two to four per cent of the passengers that would normally come from the US are arriving. That's all, most of them are Irish people coming home.

“We're not simply going to open a green list and that's it next Monday, if the decision is made by the Government to open a green list on the basis of epidemiological data that we can rely upon, then we are also looking at changing protocols in airports, working with airports to inform people, that there is a much more visible presence reminding people of their obligations when they come to Ireland.

“We are also exploring the possibility of having testing available in airports for either random testing from non green list countries or to ensure that testing is available if someone has symptoms.” 

The Minister said that there isn't a travel ban in Ireland “to anywhere.” 

That was the right decision, he said. 

Queue's for the Air France to Paris Charles De Gaulle at Cork Airport as a new season of flights restarted. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

“International travel is about seven per cent of what it would normally would be, 93% of traffic isn't coming - we haven't a travel ban, what we have is a requirement when anybody who comes into Ireland from any part of the world they are obliged by law to fill out a passenger location form, asked to restrict their movement.

“That sends out signal around the world that Ireland is not open for a normal holiday, if you're coming to Ireland you have an obligation when you come here, whether you're an Irish person coming home or whether you're Irish coming here from elsewhere, that has had an effect of dramatically reducing international travel.” 

Mr Coveney said that the latest figure he had in relation to follow up calls with passenger locator forms was 63 per cent and the reasons given for that low figure were incorrect numbers, phones not being answered and these issues were being addressed.

One of the possibilities is moving the process online so that when people book their tickets, when they check in they fill in the passenger locator form, this will mean more accurate information, he said. 

Mr Coveney added that he is going to set up a call centre so there is the capacity to ensure everyone gets a follow up call, “it's also to make sure people are aware of their responsibilities. So that we know where people are in case of a cluster.”