TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN has said the government is not yet contemplating any recommendation against travel to the North due to the rise in Delta variant cases there.

The Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan is today meeting with Northern Ireland’s Chief Medical Officer Michael McBride to discuss the situation.

Speaking to reporters at Government Buildings today, the Taoiseach said the government is not contemplating any such restrictions right now, stating that public health experts will advise about the situation after the meeting.  

Yesterday, when asked about the possibility of advising against non-essential travel to the north, Holohan said the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) “may well have to give consideration” to changing its advice on travel to Northern Ireland, stating it is “keeping a very close eye” on the threat posed by variant cases. 

There is currently no restrictions on inter-county travel, which means there are no restrictions along the border preventing people from travelling into Northern Ireland.

The chief medical officer is being criticised today by those in the aviation sector for stating yesterday that people should not to travel abroad for a holiday in July, unless they are fully vaccinated.

Asked about younger people in their 20s, he said he would advised them not to travel if they are not vaccinated.

“There are plenty of good holiday opportunities in this country,” he said.

When asked about the comments today, the Taoiseach said sometimes public health advice is not always “enthusiastically received”.

This has always been the case, said the Taoiseach, highlighting public health advice on alcohol and smoking as examples.

‘Nanny state’

Martin said he remembers issues with advice on tobacco in the past, when public health advice “was the great nanny state, that is what people would say”. 

The chief medical officer is giving people “the best possible public health advice on how to protect themselves”, said Martin adding:

“That said, Ireland will be part of the EU Covid-19 Digital Green Cert.”

There has been criticism of Holohan’s comments from some in the aviation sector, who argue the CMO’s travel advice goes against EU policy.

Ireland will begin to allow international travel throughout the EU from 19 July.

The push back against travel restrictions comes as the Oireachtas Committee on Transport says it has written to Transport Minister Eamon Ryan “strongly recommending” that he write to the chief medical officer and the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) requesting the urgent commencement of a rapid antigen testing pilot programme for aviation.

Committee chairperson, Fianna Fáil TD Kieran O’Donnell, said it came to light during the committee meeting this week with public health experts that the Government-commissioned report of the Covid-19 rapid testing group – more commonly known as the Ferguson Report – has yet to be fully discussed and considered by NPHET.

O’Donnell said the committee is now calling for this to immediately take place.

“At Wednesday’s committee meeting, Dr Holohan was fully supportive of our specific proposal to immediately roll-out a rapid antigen testing pilot programme for aviation. However, he informed us that to-date he has received no such a request from any Government department or Minister.

“Our committee has strongly recommended to the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan that the Government without delay write to and engage directly with Dr Holohan, NPHET and the aviation sector to immediately roll-out a rapid antigen pilot testing programme.

“It is vital that the logistics and ICT systems for mass serial rapid antigen testing are in place and in line with the introduction of the EU Digital COVID Certificate here,” he said.

He said the Ferguson report, which was published nearly three months ago, recommended that pilot programmes of serial rapid antigen testing commence at scale and at pace across various sectors, including the aviation sector.

“Clarity on why there been such a delay in a pilot programme for aviation being rolled-out is needed,” said O’Donnell.

The transport minister must confirm that the matter is being expedited, he added, stating that a specific commencement date for the rapid antigen testing pilot programme for aviation should be given.

Speaking at the committee meeting during the week, Holohan said he is not aware of any well-conducted validation studies internationally to support the use of antigen tests in the sector. 

“There is still much we need to learn about these tests, and their actual, as opposed to hypothetical benefits and limitations,” he said.

He said significant caution is urged in regard to any move towards employing rapid action testing for ‘green lights’, enabling activities that we would otherwise deemed to be unsafe in the current epidemiological situation. He said it would be a risk to the individuals engaging in the activities and to those around them, as well as to the wider public health response.

As evidence emerges, if it is in support of the use of rapid testing, NPHET is “more than willing” to support its further use, if an appropriate real-world evaluation indicates it can bring added benefits, he said. 

“What we can’t do is start rolling out tests on the basis of people think they’re a good idea,” Holohan said.

Any trial studies will be challenging and take time, he added.

Different options in July

Speaking today, the Taoiseach said: 

“In my opinion, there’s an advantage to antigen testing, and that’s clear from various settings, particularly in meat factories. Simon Harris is piloting antigen testing in third-level settings to try it out in universities, and across Europe they’re using antigen testing.

“It’s nothing new that there are different opinions, and it’s been like that since the beginning of humankind, I suppose. It’s clear that the public health experts are concerned about antigen testing, they believe they’re not as effective as others think they are. In my opinion, we can make use of them.

“But I do agree with the CMO when he says that the most important thing in the middle of July is vaccines and the picture will be much different at the end of July, so we might have different options at the end of July.”

Separately, speaking about the further easing of restrictions on 5 July, the Taoiseach said he is” going to keep it steady” throughout June, stating that there won’t be any “advancing or accelerating anything”.

He said there has been a downward spiral in the number of cases and deaths, with Martin adding that by the end of the weekend, more than two-thirds of adults will have received at least one dose of vaccine and more than one-third will have received two doses.