Lost in travel pass confusion
Travel agent chief slates the ‘mixed messages’ from CMO and State
WITH less than two weeks to go before EU member states start using the Covid green pass, Irish sunseekers still do not know how and when they will be able to apply for one.
And this weekend, officials at Health Minister Stephen Donnelly’s department and Minister Simon Coveney’s Department of Foreign Affairs admitted they had no idea when the first of the passes would be issued.
They were left red-faced after it emerged several EU countries have issued the certs, with Spain being the latest country to roll out its version in recent days.
And speaking in Cork yesterday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said Ireland is ‘certainly on target to be a part of the EU framework in
‘The CMO is entitled to say what he wants’
terms of the Digital Covid Certificate, which I think is an important milestone’.
However, he gave no specifics as to how the EU Digital Covid Certificate would roll out here from July 19.
Anyone keen to travel for a holiday within the EU during the summer will need a Covid certificate and on arrival at a border crossing, the card will be scanned and crossreferenced against an EU database to ensure it is not bogus.
Each card will show the person’s name, their date of birth, when they were vaccinated, whether they are recovering from Covid and if they have had a negative PCR test before travelling.
Officials in Brussels approved Ireland’s version of the pass two weeks ago after it underwent a series of intensive security and technical checks, but Government officials still can’t say when these passes will be issued and how holidaymakers can apply for them.
These embarrassing revelations come as Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan appeared to cause widespread confusion when he announced unvaccinated people should not travel abroad on holidays until they are fully vaccinated.
He made the controversial remarks on Thursday a day after he told the Joint Oireachtas Transport Committee that those who are fully vaccinated will not need to do a PCR test to travel.
But the remarks of the country’s most senior medic were later contradicted by travel agents and Higher Education Minister Simon Harris. The former health minister said he believed PCR tests would still be necessary to travel in and out of the country.
And this weekend, travel agents urged the Government to announce when people can start applying for Covid passes and to correct the confusion prompted by Mr Holohan’s remarks.
Irish Travel Agents Association president Paul Hackett said: ‘Tony Holohan is telling unvaccinated people they should not travel, but that’s not what the Digital Covid Cert says.
‘He is going outside of what the Digital Covid Cert is offering and that’s not the consistency and communication we want.
‘The CMO is entitled to say whatever he wants but there does need to be consistency between what he is saying and what the Government has on the other Government websites, the Citizen’s Information, the Department of Foreign Affairs and gov.ie,’ he said.
‘They all make it very clear that if you are unvaccinated, you can travel as long as you have a negative PCR test coming back into Ireland from an EU member state. The communication has to be very clear on this and it has to be consistent.’
He added: ‘It’s not good [that people do not know how and when they can apply for a Digital Covid Certificate]… people are asking our members, “how do we apply
‘They need to get moving on it now’
for it” and we don’t have the details at the moment. ‘The Government has said that they will roll this out and we have to take the Government at its word.
‘From July 19, people can travel from Ireland to an EU member state for non-essential travel, but most of Europe is going on July 1.
‘It becomes usable on the first of July under EU law… they need to get moving on it now. It would be very useful if the Department of Transport came out and confirmed what we’re going to be doing.
‘We have to see this rolling out no later than July 5. Come out and clarify when we are going to have it and how easy it is going to be to download it or get a printed version if you don’t have a smartphone.’
Last night, officials at the Department of Health and the Department of Foreign Affairs were unable to give any information about when and how Irish holidaymakers will be able to apply for a Digital Covid Cert. And they were also unable to give any details about which agency will issue these passes.
A spokeswoman at the Department of Health would only say: ‘The legislation underpinning the certificate will apply from July 1.
‘Given the various states of readiness across the EU, there will be a six-week phasing period to ensure that existing certificates can be accepted while member states fully transition to the new system. ‘Over the coming weeks, the Department of An Taoiseach, the Department of Health and the HSE, Department of Justice, Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Transport will continue to develop the technical aspects and supporting operational procedures, legal instruments and a communications campaign required to deliver the EU Digital Covid Certificate in Ireland.’
A spokeswoman at the Department of Foreign Affairs said: ‘The EU Digital Covid Certificate is designed to facilitate the safe, free movement of citizens within the EU during the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘Clarify when we are going to have it’
‘A huge amount of work is under way across Government departments and the HSE to prepare for the introduction of the certificates both for travelling to the country and those travelling from the country.’
Minister Coveney has said the Government had no plans to subsidise the cost of PCR testing for travel. He said the implementation of the EU Digital Covid Certificate on July 19 will require that 2.5million people who meet the criteria to travel under it are placed on a database that is integrated with the EU system.
This would include all those who are fully vaccinated, those who had a Covid-19 infection and recovered in the previous nine months, and people with negative PCR tests 72 hours before landing.
The Department of Health has been notified of 393 new cases of Covid-19. The number of patients with Covid-19 in intensive care units is down one to 14, the lowest since September 14. There are 48 patients with Covid-19 in hospital, which is the lowest figure since September 5.