'No consultation' over proposal to increase mandatory hotel quarantine list
The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santry near Dublin Airport, one of the quarantine hotel used for air travellers arriving into Ireland.
Doubts have been cast over Ireland's ability to more than double the list of countries from which passengers will have to quarantine in a hotel.
Travellers to Ireland from the US and a number of EU countries including Italy, Germany and France face the prospect of quarantine in hotels after a recommendation from the Travel Expert Advisory Group, which said the current list of 33 countries be more than doubled, with 43 countries added to it, including the US and a number of EU states such as Italy, France and Germany.
The advice was sent to the Health Minister Stephen Donnelly on Monday night and forwarded to Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney.
However, a spokesperson for Mr Coveney said: “Any addition to the list of category 2 countries requires consultation with the Minister for Foreign Affairs by the Minister for Health. That has not happened to date.”
Cabinet sources said Taoiseach Micheál Martin "cut the idea off at the pass" at Tuesday's meeting, adding Mr Coveney and some within his department were "furious" the recommendation had made it to the media before any consultation.
The Government is expected to make a decision on the list later this week. However, the new list is seen as trickier for the Government as it contains a number of key economic allies.
The current list contains a number of countries with no direct flights to Ireland and minimal passenger numbers in a normal year. There are also concerns that any such move would breach EU freedom of movement rules, though Austria is on the current list.
The decision to force American passengers to quarantine will "not be taken lightly", according to a source, despite all arrivals legally being required to quarantine at home for 14 days.
There are also questions on whether the Irish system, which has just four designated hotels, would be able to handle the additional numbers of travellers. One source said the plan would need "dozens" of hotels because about 1,000 people were arriving in the country a day.
"Even accounting for essential workers, that's thousands in hotels," said a source.
Sources said it was now less likely the move would be made wholesale. However, Mr Martin did confirm that countries will be added to the list.
The Government has also confirmed that those arriving into Ireland would require a PCR test on arrival into Ireland, not just before they fly. Details on how this will be implemented will be announced later this week.
It comes as three people in mandatory hotel quarantine tested positive for the virus. These are the first cases of the disease to be detected since the mandatory hotel quarantine system came into effect last week.
Guests undergo testing on the first and 10th days of their 12-night quarantine.
The system, which was announced in January, only went live last week and was immediately plunged into controversy when three people absconded from their hotel quarantine.
Two have since returned to the hotel. Gardaí continued to hunt for the third on Tuesday, though it is believed he travelled to Northern Ireland.
Those who do not obey the law will be fined €2,000 and/or imprisoned for up to a month, according to the law governing the system.
Meanwhile, as part of the Government's push for an outdoor summer, Minister for Tourism Catherine Martin TD and Fáilte Ireland will announce details of a new €17m scheme for developing outdoor dining capacity nationwide.
The Outdoor Dining Enhancement Scheme comprises two stages and will be delivered in partnership between Fáilte Ireland and local authorities across the country. The first stage will provide funding for individual tourism and hospitality businesses to develop their own outdoor seating capacity, and funding allocated under part two will enable local authorities to develop permanent outdoor public dining spaces in towns and urban centres, similar to those that exist in various European cities.
This will comprise of waterproofing and outdoor infrastructure which will facilitate medium-large scale, weather-proofed dining areas for a collective of businesses in a single zone or street, similar to those that exist in various European cities or Cork's Prince's St.
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