LAST UPDATE | 5 Jan 2021

ALL TRAVELLERS COMING into Ireland from any country will have to provide a negative PCR test from the previous 72 hours under new plans agreed by the Cabinet sub-committee on Covid-19.

The travel ban from Britain and South Africa will be extended by 48 hours and will now elapse at midnight on Friday.

After that, all travellers from those countries will have to provide a negative Covid-19 test when they arrive in Ireland.

Passengers will have to show the negative test results when boarding. While airlines will check the documentation, they won’t be policing it. However, they will advise passengers that their test results will be inspected upon landing in Ireland. 

If you travel without a prior test result, passengers could be subject to a fine, or detention.

The requirement for a negative test from all other countries on the red list will be introduced at a later stage.

Travellers that require a negative test before arrival will still have to restrict their movements until they receive another PCR test five days later in Ireland.

The negative test result is only a requirement from these countries, and will not be needed if you are travelling from green list country on the traffic light system. 

The UK government is considering bringing in further restrictions for international travel, senior minister Michael Gove has said. 

Ministers are understood to be considering toughening border controls to require international arrivals to have a negative test before travelling to Britain, with hauliers being exempt.

Last night, Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered a new national lockdown for England. People will only be able to leave their homes for limited reasons, with measures expected to stay in place until mid-February.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Michael Gove said: “We are looking at further options to restrict international travel.

I talked last night to the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to ensure that we can have a coordinated approach on this and we’re working together to do that.

He said Johnson’s message last night was “clear” that people should not be travelling. 

“There are some vital reasons why people should travel, commercial reasons to make sure that we have food on our shelves and fuel for our industry, but we are looking very hard to see how we can make sure that our ports and airports are as safe as possible,” Gove said. 

Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster said last night that the UK recognises that “international travel will have to be reviewed again”. 

In the UK, only essential international journeys are permitted.

- With reporting by Christina Finn and Press Association.