New 'medium-term' Covid-19 roadmap to allow for international travel

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said the new Covid roadmap will "restore livelihoods" and "protect lives". File Picture: Julien Behal

The Government is to publish a medium-term Covid plan, which will be more important than the Budget.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has told the Dáil that the plan, due to be published on September 14, will allow people to return to some sort of normality in the coming months.

It is expected that an easing of restrictions on international travel will be contained in this plan with Mr Ryan stating that it would contain "a planned approach allowing for connectivity".

Mr Ryan said the plan would "restore livelihoods as well as protect lives."

He said this medium-term road-map "is as important if not more important" than the upcoming Budget.

"The government has to now start preparing for the next, six, nine, 18 months, a medium term approach, where in the absence of a vaccine we have to manage it and included in that we will have to manage international travel," he said.

Responding to questioning from Social Democrats TD Róisín Shortall he said: "It is as important if not more important in my mind than the Budget facing us, because how we manage this will allow a return to some normality of life as we manage with Covid and try and minimise it and try and suppress it."