AS VACCINES ARE rolled out in Ireland, the question of what international travel may look like into the future and a debate about whether or not vaccine certificates should come into effect have been raised. 

Writing for TheJournal.ie this morning, MEP Billy Kelleher says he supports the idea of an “internationally recognisable, interoperable vaccine certificate…to allow for travel and to avoid the need to quarantine upon arrival into another country.”

The question centres around how Governments in the future will respond to quarantine rules in other jurisdictions and how this will affect travel abroad. 

“My support has nothing to do with restricting the rights of Irish people to go about their business in Ireland,” said Kelleher. 

“The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has rightly raised the red flag about such a certificate being used to restrict access to services or facilities in Ireland. It cannot and should not be used to force anyone to get vaccinated if they chose not to.”

Kelleher said the Government must start work on developing a system, “ideally in coordination with our European neighbours that is safe, non-discriminatory and globally recognised.”

Speaking at yesterday’s HSE briefing, CEO Paul Reid said the matter of vaccine certificates is a policy issue while Professor Karina Butler, Chair of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee, said the idea was “a step too far” at the moment. 

Today, we’re asking: Should Ireland introduce vaccine certificates for travel?