It’s ‘illogical’ to put people who have had jabs in hotels
MINISTER for Higher Education Simon Harris has said it is ‘illogical’ to put people into mandatory quarantine if they have been vaccinated and have had a negative Covid test.
And Erasmus students will not have to pay for any mandatory hotel quarantine on their return to Ireland, Mr Harris confirmed yesterday.
He said the Government will pay the costs, because the State has a ‘duty’ to help bring students home.
There are 1,026 Irish students abroad on Erasmus programmes, Higher Education Authority figures show. About half – 556 students – are in the five EU countries that are on the Government’s mandatory hotel quarantine list: Austria, Belgium,
‘Duty to help bring them home’
France, Italy and Luxembourg.
It is expected the bill to provide free hotel quarantine will cost the taxpayer about €1million.
Mr Harris said: ‘My message to students on Erasmus is to complete their Erasmus placement, to enjoy it as much as you can during a pandemic, and if you need to use mandatory quarantine measures, the State will pay those costs.
‘It has been Government policy to encourage Irish students to participate in Erasmus+. These study periods are an integral part of learning outcomes in Irish universities.
‘We have a duty to help bring them home.’ Mr Harris also told RTÉ’s Today With Claire Byrne radio programme yesterday that he did not have details about how students will apply for the hotel stay costs to be covered, but that it would most likely be through a waiver.
‘I don’t want students to put their hands in their pockets,’ he said.
The Fine Gael minister also said it was his ‘very firm view’ that people who were fully vaccinated and had negative PCR tests should not have to quarantine in a hotel on their arrival in Ireland.
‘I want to see the Government now expedite this issue of people who have been vaccinated,’ he said.
‘I don’t want to see a situation where our students are coming back from the United States, who have been fully vaccinated in the US, have to go into two weeks of mandatory hotel quarantine. ‘That seems illogical to me.’ The Government has asked health officials to examine whether fully vaccinated people can be exempted from mandatory hotel quarantine.
Fianna Fáil senator Malcolm Byrne said that rather than spending potentially €1million on mandatory hotel quarantining of Erasmus students, the money should be used to assist such students to extend their stay in other EU countries.
He said: ‘Rather than have students return home, we should be encouraging students to stay in their Erasmus towns and cities and continue to experience cultural differences and develop language skills.’