No mandatory hotel quarantining until at least next week

Chair of Public Accounts Committee has called for full clarity around the €25m the HSE has spent on renting out the Citywest Hotel since the start of the pandemic

Politicians have welcomed the decision to rollout an EU-wide Covid travel certificate. Picture: Brian Lawless

Mandatory quarantining will not begin until at least next week as a contract has yet to be signed with a hotel provider.

The legislation to allow for hotel quarantining was brought to Cabinet a month ago. However, the system has yet to get up and running.

While it is hoped the contract with a service provider could be signed before the weekend, a booking system will be set up a few days in advance to allow people entering the country from specific destinations to check in.

It comes as the chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has called for full clarity around the €25m the HSE has spent on renting out the Citywest Hotel since the start of the pandemic.

Brian Stanley said that for much of the past 11 months occupancy at the Dublin hotel, which has been used to provide self-isolation facilities, has been low.

Initially, the HSE planned to use Citywest as an emergency hospital if acute hospitals were overrun.

The Sinn Féin TD said: “I appreciate that contracts were signed last year, and procurement processes were rushed due to the nature of the pandemic we were dealing with.

However, the leasing of the Citywest complex at a cost of €24,867,477 over an 11-month period during which the occupancy rate was very low calls for serious scrutiny.

Describing the amount spent as "staggering", Mr Stanley said a break clause should have been inserted to end the contract early if it wasn’t needed.

“There are 1056 rooms in the Citywest complex. Only 2,443 patients were admitted for self-isolation over the 11 months and at times, the occupancy rate was as low as 26 patients," he said.

Meanwhile, politicians have welcomed the decision to rollout an EU-wide Covid travel certificate. 

The ‘digital green certificate’ will provide details on whether a person has been vaccinated, has received a negative test result or whether they have recovered from the virus providing them with immunity.

Fianna Fáil TD Cathal Crowe said it would allow for the resumption of international travel which "can’t happen soon enough".

“As countries like Ireland start to vaccinate large numbers of the adult population, we need to look strategically at a resumption of international travel and this is where this certificate’s importance becomes all the more evident.

While it may not be to everyone’s liking, for the next number of months, I envisage that those who have been vaccinated should be shown more leeway in terms of boarding flights and travelling overseas.

Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell said supporting a safe return to travel later this year is imperative. He said the Government should provide extra funding to our airlines and their employees.

He said: "Our connectivity on the island of Ireland and the routes that provide connectivity must be sustained, either through direct intervention by government, or through funding from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund already provided to one airline. 

"The EU commission has already approved €120m of funding toward Aegean Airlines, a move which I believe paves the way for Government to provide additional supports."