Fully vaccinated travellers from Britain and US don't need to self-isolate from Monday

A member of the defence forces escorts a passenger from Terminal 2 arrivals hall at Dublin Airport. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

Fully vaccinated people travelling from Britain and the US to Ireland will no longer need to self-isolate on arrival here from Monday.

They will also not be required to take a PCR test 72 hours before departure.

However, people who are not fully vaccinated will still need to have a test before travelling and self-isolate on arrival.

The changes come into effect the same day as the new EU Digital Covid Certificate.

Clare Dunne, vice-president of the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA), says their sector had a very busy week as people prepare to travel.

"Once they started arriving this week and people's email boxes, people were getting excited," Ms Dunne said.

"We started to get calls almost straight away from people inquiring about could they travel in July and August this year, could they start making plans for later in the year for next year.

"I think people want to set what they have in their hands ... they then felt comfortable making plans."

More than 30 countries have been removed from the Government's mandatory hotel quarantine list.

These include Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines and Qatar.

Meanwhile, Cuba has been added to the list, with passengers now required to self-isolate in a designated hotel for 14 days.

Legislation allowing indoor dining will be signed into law next week, but only for people who are vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19.

Meanwhile, final guidelines are being drawn up to allow the hospitality sector re-open for customers to eat and drink indoors.

Legislation allowing indoor dining will be signed into law next week, but only for people who are vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19.

Adrian Cummins, CEO of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, says there may be a few teething problems at first.

"The initial reopening phase will have some technical difficulties obviously, we are trying to get to a position where we will be able to roll out the reopening in a smooth manner," he said.

"We need to make sure that these guidelines are circulated well in advance so people know, not just for businesses but employees and customers. what is required when they're allowed to dine indoors hopefully from Monday, July 26."