Travel rules baff le public

IRISH people hoping to holiday abroad are puzzled about what they should do in order to comply with Covid rules.

The widespread confusion is revealed in the Irish Mail on Sunday-Ireland Thinks poll.

It shows 41% of people either don’t know whether they understand all the rules, or else they admit they have no idea what they should do.

The poll finding comes as the ban on non-essential travel abroad is lifted tomorrow, and as the Government prepares to launch the long-awaited EU digital passport.

It was reportd over the weekend that the Green Party’s Dún Laoghaire TD and Covid pass Minister Ossian Smyth will be on holidays in the Gaeltacht when Ireland’s EU Digital Cert is launched this week.

Anyone travelling to EU member states needs an EU Digital Cert to show they have either been fully vaccinated, have tested negative for the virus within 72 hours of setting off on their journey or they have recovered from Covid.

When asked if they understand the current rules governing international travel, 35% of those polled answered ‘No’, with another 6% saying they ‘don’t know’. A mjority, 58% said they understood the rules about travelling abroad.

Meanwhile, in a blow to travel agents hoping to sell foreign trips to Irish people determined to have a treat abroad after three lockdowns, most of those surveyed said they had no plans to leave Ireland any time soon.

When asked if they intend to travel abroad this year, only 30% of those polled said ‘Yes’, while more than twice this number, 61%, replied ‘No’.

Nine per cent of those polled said they ‘don’t know’.