Talks this week on extending mandatory hotel quarantine list 

A political row erupted over a recommendation to add the US, France, and Germany to the list

Talks are due to take place later this week in the wake of criticism that the Government was 'cherry-picking' the countries on the list. File Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Talks are due to take place in the coming days between senior Government officials on proposals to increase Ireland's mandatory hotel quarantine list.

It comes in the wake of criticism of the Government, which has been accused of "cherry-picking" the countries currently on the list, which include a number of states with low levels of the virus and several which do not have direct flights to Ireland.

It also includes Israel, the world leader on vaccines at present.

It is understood the meetings will take place on Wednesday and Thursday and will see senior officials teasing out issues around hotel capacity, staffing, safety, the capacity in the Defence Forces to handle an influx of guests, and the potential fallout from adding more EU countries to the list.

Home quarantine

It is understood that potential compromises around expanding home quarantine will also be discussed, as there is concern within the Department of Foreign Affairs about implementing mandatory hotel quarantine for states where a large number of Irish people are likely to reside.

Sources have confirmed that Stephen Donnelly, the health minister, is keen to add a number of countries such as France, Germany, and Italy, as the emergence of new variants continues to be a cause of concern.

The new proposals will take into account recommendations made by health officials who report to deputy chief medical officer Ronan Glynn. They are likely to be brought to Cabinet next week.

Mr Donnelly does not need Cabinet backing to add countries but will need the approval of Paul Gallagher, the attorney general, who flagged his concerns with the proposals last week.

There is no Cabinet meeting scheduled this week and Cabinet sources say that it is unlikely that one would be called as ministers are keen to defuse any notion that they are in disagreement.

Row started

A row started between the Department of Health and the Department of Foreign Affairs following proposals from the Travel Expert Advisory Group, which recommended adding France, Germany, and the US to the list.

An additional 26 states were added to the mandatory hotel quarantine list instead, with one country removed.

The new additions bring the number of countries on the list to 59.

The 26 new states on the mandatory hotel quarantine list are: Albania, Andorra, Aruba, Bahrain, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, Ethiopia, Israel, Jordan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lebanon, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Oman, Palestine, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Saint Lucia, San Marino, Serbia, Somalia, and the Wallis and Futuna islands.

From 4am tomorrow morning, people arriving in the State from these countries must pre-book accommodation for 12 nights' mandatory hotel quarantine on arrival, at their own expense.