'Strong view' that more countries need to be added to mandatory quarantine list

Stephen Donnelly, the health minister, has the power to designate passengers arriving from further countries to the hotel quarantine list without the approval of his fellow Cabinet ministers. 

A number of countries are expected to be added to the mandatory hotel quarantine list in the coming weeks.

Government sources confirmed that health minister Stephen Donnelly is preparing to add more countries to the list.

It is assumed that France, where there have been reports of an alarming new variant, will be added as a priority, despite opposition from some Fine Gael ministers.

Mr Donnelly has the legal power to designate countries on to the list without the approval of Cabinet ministers, but he requires the backing of Attorney General Paul Gallagher, who raised concerns over the legality of the plans last week.

Fears of a repeat of the Christmas wave

One minister told the Irish Examiner there was “a strong view from the health experts that more need to be added and a real concern that we could see a repeat of Christmas, when Irish people came home and may have brought new variants with them.

"With the vaccine rollout ramping up and summer coming, if ever there was a time it’s now." 

A travel advisory group that reports to deputy chief medical officer Ronan Glynn will meet on Wednesday to discuss adding more countries, including Poland and the Netherlands, to the list.

Row between departments

A row between the Department of Health and the Department of Foreign Affairs broke out last week after public health officials recommended 43 countries (including the US as well as France, Germany, and other EU states) be added to the list.

Foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney said he did not believe the practice should be implemented for countries where large numbers of Irish people live.

One Cabinet minister remarked that Mr Coveney had “shown a real lack of understanding” on the issue.

An additional 26 states were added to the mandatory hotel quarantine list instead, with one country removed. The additions bring the number of countries on the list to 58.