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CHRISTMAS TRAVEL: Should Irish people abroad book flights or ferries home? Is it okay to plan a trip abroad from Ireland?
These are just some of the questions being asked in households here and in far-flung parts of the world this week.
The issue of travel has dominated the headlines after Tánaiste Leo Varadkar told the Dáil this week that he wouldn’t advise that people overseas to book flights home just yet.
His words to the Dáil on Thursday provoked a mixed response. Joe Duffy’s Liveline switchboard lit up with calls, with one listener telling the host they were “disgusted” with Varadkar’s comments.
Since the start of the pandemic, the government has come in for criticism over its perceived mixed-messaging on international travel.
It was hoped by those in the corridors of power that this would be put to bed this month as Ireland aligned with the rest of Europe in adopting the new ‘traffic light’ travel system.
But heading into December, the public has a number of layers of travel advice to get its head around. Far from ideal.
Well first of all, there is what you legally can and can’t do.
Legally, there is no law stopping someone from either flying into Ireland or someone flying out of Ireland. Flights are going every day, travel never stopped in Ireland, and it was never banned.
If you decide to fly in or out of Ireland, you won’t be stopped at the airport or sent back home.
Mandatory quarantine is not in force in Ireland. Nor is it a legal requirement for a person to restrict their movements for 14 days after their arrival from another country, but as one of the key measures for stopping the spread of Covid-19 it is very strongly advised
What is legally mandated is the requirement to fill in a Personal Locator Form at the airport or port when you arrive in Ireland. Details of your address and other contact details should be logged on that form, in order to aid contact-tracing in the event that it’s required.
Moving on from what’s legally allowed or not, we come to the government’s official public health advice under Level 5 restrictions.
With the current restrictions in effect until the end of the month the advice remains that there should be no non-essential international travel.
In addition, all residents of Ireland are being asked to restrict movements to within 5km of their home unless it is strictly essential. Any arriving passengers in Ireland are asked to abide by these public health measures.
Official government policy on international travel is provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Anyone looking to travel into Ireland or abroad, would generally be guided by this advice, which is available on the DFA website.
The department states that if you are considering travelling, it continues to advise against non-essential travel overseas - other than to countries that are part of the EU ‘traffic lights’ approach.
The advice for people travelling to these areas is to exercise a high degree of caution.
However, many of the countries that have signed up to this system currently have their own quarantine or other requirements for arriving passengers – some of which are much harsher than ours.
For instance, Irish people arriving in France can only enter “as long as they can present proof that they are travelling for a professional, medical, or urgent family purpose, or are returning to their primary residence in France”.
More on the traffic light system later.
In short, officially, there isn’t one yet.
What Leo Varadkar told the Dáil on Thursday was that that Irish people living abroad shouldn’t book flights home for Christmas just yet.
The reasoning behind this is somewhat obvious. While we have our second wave largely under control, it is still raging in other countries, meaning that a large influx of people travelling to Ireland and dispersing around the country brings with it a massive risk of transmission.
Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan went a step further than Varadkar, saying that flying home for Christmas was not essential.
“We think people should avoid non-essential travel and continue to do so for the foreseeable future,” Dr Holohan said at NPHET’s Thursday night press briefing.
“That includes the Christmas period, and we would feel that the kind of travel that would normally happen at Christmas time, people coming back to spend time with their loved ones, [...] we have to regard as non-essential for this Christmas.”
As of yet, we don’t know what public health advice will be in place once Level 5 expires at the end of this month. Although, obviously, there will have to be some level of restrictions.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin acknowledged this yesterday when he told RTÉ’s News at One that the government would give people notice “before the end of November” of what the plans for the Christmas period will be “so that people can make preparations”.
He agreed with Varadkar that “at this moment people should wait” before booking flights home to Ireland for Christmas, but added that clarity on that issue and other arrangements for Christmas would be given before Level 5 ends.
The Taoiseach said the government would listen to NPHET advice, but that what happens in terms of travel around Christmas will be a government decision
It’s envisaged that enhanced testing regimes will form part of any international travel advice.
From midnight on 29 November, travellers arriving into Ireland from so-called ‘red’ regions in the new traffic light system will be advised that they no longer need to restrict their movements once they pass a Covid-19 PCR test (usually a nasal swab) five days following their arrival here.
As of last Sunday night, travellers arriving from orange regions do not have to restrict their movements if they carry the results of a negative Covid-19 test taken at least three days before their arrival.
Those who do not have a negative test upon arrival in Ireland can have a test taken five days after their arrival.
Passengers will be asked to restrict their movements until they get the test.
Currently, a person is advised to restrict their movements for 14 days following arrival from a ‘red’ region.
A Covid-19 test centre is due to be up and running at Dublin Airport next week, while new testing facilities became fully operational in Cork and Shannon Airports this week.
PCR tests from private operators cost between €130 and €199 in most cases in Ireland – away from airports, other private companies are already offering them.
Some airports in other countries offer free PCR testing. As demand increases, it is envisaged that the cost here will come down. If other rapid tests are approved as alternatives to PCR, they will be a lot cheaper.
Children under 6 are to be exempt from testing requirements.
As stated above, Ireland is now a part of this.
Under the new EU traffic light plan, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control publishes a weekly map of the EU using a three-stage colour system to indicate the level of risk in each area.
Levels are determined by a variety of epidemiological factors including the 14-day incidence per 100,000 population and the level of positive tests.
Ireland signed up to the plan in October, and it became fully operational this month.
Currently, as the second wave rages on the continent, pretty much everywhere is ‘red’. There’s a smattering of orange areas and absolutely no green.
See why this is confusing?
Don’t be minding the Green List.
It’s no longer a thing.
Forget it ever existed.
The US and other areas are classified as ‘grey’ in the new traffic light system.
Grey areas are classified the same as ‘red’ countries or regions, and therefore, if you are arriving from a red region or grey regions, like the United States, from 29 November you will be advised that you can move freely once you pass a PCR test five days after arrival.
Currently people should restrict their movements for 14 days following arrival.
Once again, yes. Airports are open, and flights are taking off. There is nothing stopping a passenger from flying.
Airlines and routes are operational and open to taking bookings.
The new EU travel plan it does not specify reasons for travel.
The Department of Foreign Affairs says should you decide that you need to travel, you should inform yourself about any requirements in your destination.
Information about entry restrictions currently applied by other countries is available on the DFA’s the country-specific travel advice pages.
Additional restrictions may be imposed in your destination, including during the duration of your visit.
Again, the public health advice in place at the moment advises against non-essential travel – domestically and internationally.
Under the traffic light system, a certain number of travellers are exempt from the requirement to undergo quarantine measures or movement restrictions.
These include passengers travelling for imperative family reasons and those travelling for business reasons. You can see the full list here.
- With reporting by Daragh Brophy and Nicky Ryan
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Im saving my penneys for the next crash. No point looking at a house until then
@Irish Political GIF:
Good for you but you will probably need to save the full price. There was lots of people who wanted to buy when the prices collapsed the last time but no one could get a loan.
I’ve noticed the 100 bags are getting smaller alright. Id safely say the good old greedy boom times are back!
@Irish Political GIF: Well that’s how the vulture capitalists do it. to bail out governments like FG. then cause a bigger problem by fire selling ireland. instead of public works scheme and waiting untill thing get better.
@P.J. Nolan: I bought in 2009 as we weren’t approved for a mortgage in 2006 – thank god for that ! Got house for half the price
The gov propaganda machine is out in full force this morning, a whole list of articles on gov giveaways and what their gonna do, followed by the leprechaun economics state finance figures!
@Adrian: how is the central bank report on facts and global guesstimates the Irish governments propaganda machine?
@Adrian: have you stepped outside the door recently. Gone shopping in town? Driven on the roads. The economy is booming and it’s not a credit fuelled boom. Wake up, go out and get a job and stop moaning. You losers (all 10 of you) have lost your chance.
@Adrian: You’re tin foil hat seems a lot title loose there fella.
@Darren Norris: It certainly is leprechaun economics if they are including aircraft leasing and other such distortions in their economy growth forecasts. This article does not make that clear.
@Adrian: I thought the government propaganda machine was clothed down….sorry.
@joe: depends Where you are,Waterford is not showing any signs of any recovery.
@Adrian: There’s a lot of jobs out there, shame theyre poverty jobs, i.e 9 euro an hour
The top 10% is spending most of it…….
@Peadar Ó Gréacháin: be a bit worrying if they didn’t
@Darren Norris: You missed his point!
The good times are back. Bank has offered me an increased overdraft. My credit card company will give me a much higher limit, scarily high and mortgage broker told me I can get a buy to let mortgage loan on an interest only basis.
Now for a massive credit bubble.
And I declined the Bank OD offer, held to my credit card limit and told the mortgage broker there was no value to be obtained in now investing in buy to lets.
Not all of us will cave in to the blandishments of credit.
Down with the creditocracy.
@Michael Lang: Yup. The banks are out there putting guns to people’s heads, making them borrow what they don’t have, AGAIN.
@Michael Lang: IF people borrow then they should be smart enough to know the risks.. Part of the property bubble at the moment is the fact 25,000 homeowners are not vacated and have not paid any mortgage in over 2 years.
Dont borrow….you are not being forced into it.
@Michael Lang: credit card companies are banned from increasing limits, or writing to tell you that you can increase your limit…
I’d love to hear from David McWilliams. Smart man couldn’t have got it more spot on the last time.
@David Smith: “David McWilliams’ brilliant survey of Ireland today is a celebration of success. He takes us to Deckland, that suburban state of mind where you’ll find the Kells Angels, those out-of-town commuters who are the cutting edge of the new prosperity. He introduces the HiCos – Hiberno-Cosmopolitans – the elite whose distance from Deckland is measured in their cool sophistication, their ability to feel at home equally on the Boulevard Saint-Michel and on Hill 16. “The Pope’s Children” is an antidote to the endless pessimism of the Commentariat, official Ireland’s gloomy opinion mongers, forever seeing a glass half empty that is in fact three-quarters full. There is a vast surge of ambition, new money, optimism and hope out there. That’s the real story: “The Pope’s Children” tells it – and tells it with style.”
The Blurb from his 2005 book, as cut and pasted from Amazon.
@David Smith: he did. But so will I the economy will crash. There i said it, now I’m an economic genius because it will definitely happen. It’s easy to predict certainties. This is how economic cycles work!
@Fifty Shades of Sé: Which he was caught for plagiarizing
In the words of Tommy Tiernan if you can’t spend money in the good times then THEY’RE NOT THE GOOD TIMES
@League of shadows: hoard in the good times, spend in the bad times. EG: house prices etc….
@League of shadows: They’re the ‘in preparation for the bad times’ times
Most of which is no doubt based on credit. Loan now, pay back later – what could possibly go wrong?
@Shakka1244: as the UK faces a massive consumer credit crisis for car loans, home makeovers and luxury purchases.
The creditocracy depends on consumers to borrow and to borrow deeply.
@Shakka1244: I don’t think there’s near as much personal credit as there was back in the boom. But I would question the numbers used in the report. 103bn is not near the same value as 103bn back in 2008. Groceries may have fallen in price due to efficiencies and cheaper methods of packaging but everything else is going up it seems! So we have not yet reached 2008 level despite the report. Maybe credit will get us there though ;)
Isn’t there a higher population contributing to the spending now than in 2008 with higher prices overall?
@Jointheclubtoo: shhh, your not supposed to know that, you’re ruining it!
@Jointheclubtoo: and don’t mention the quadrupled national debt in the last 10 years!
Click bait headline that draws attention to the least credible part of the report. Typical copy & paste reporting really. Mr Brennan if you want to ever be a credible journalist yourself how about dissecting the information a little.
Example: the high watermark is based on an absolute monetary value! Ridiculous to suggest that €103bn is the same today as it was in 2008 with inflation and currency debasement that’s happened since. The euro is simply not worth as much as it was in real terms (and comparing the rates is useless as all the major currencies have fallen in lock-step). One needs to analyse the relationship of currency to the price of goods themselves. I guess thats beyond the Journalist wannabes on the journal and more for the likes of the FT.
So we have not reached 2008 level.
So around €25,000 each. I don’t feel so bad about my spending now.
Come home @Dave_Doyle, the boom is back.
@Pat Bateman: the tiger is roaring
Looks like they only stopped short of declaring us all multi millionaires! Plus a new way of forecasting house completions! Followed by the inevitable threats to their utopian forecasting, Trump, Brexit, (basically anyone else but the Irish gov and central bank, what state bankruptcy!!???)
Funny that,I’m a nurse and I’m still struggling
@Kevin Slater: Why would being a nurse make any difference? All my life nurses have complained about their salaries with strikes and work to rule being regular events.
Yep, it’s seems people have gone mad again, we’ve clearly learned nothing and the odd thing is the complete ignorance of where we were. Just recently it’s been admitted the mortgage arrears crisis has not changed. If we were to believe the horrendous stories regarding personal debt, you have to ask have people suddenly found pots of gold? Have they had massive wage increases, have indeed people had their debts mysteriously wiped? I refuse to believe legacy debts have been cleared in such a short amount of time.
What a load of tripe.
Unless everyone is online.
Retail is on its knees in this country.
I’ve never known it to be this bad.
All credit too
All we need now if FF back at the wheel. Sure what could go wrong?
I think this is just an attempt by the gov and the central bank to try and get people to spend more money so they can get their hands on it through all their various taxes. Their water tax didn’t work, and there is only so far they can increase all the different insurance prices, they need to find other ways to get their hands on people’s money and trying to fool the people into thinking the boom times are back is a way they can do that. So their story is great times but they’re telling us they have to be careful and prudent because they don’t want the teachers etc protesting for higher pay at the same time! It’s an idiotic country we’re living in, run by an idiotic gov.
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