International travel, which has been stalled for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to be resolved. The Minister of Transport said the government will prepare a plan to resume international travel on 13 October.
The government had restricted travel to and from Ireland for several months following the outbreak of the COVID-19. This has triggered a major financial crisis for the airport management. There have been instances where many airport employees have even been terminated.
However, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, who spoke on RTÉ One’s The Week in Politics programme, said the plan would take effect this month. Ryan said today that the Irish government’s plan to agree with the European Union should be finalised by October 13.
The status of the green list and whether it agrees with the approach adopted by the European Union are holding the government back from resuming international travel.
Last month, the European Union announced plans to introduce a traffic light system that would set common standards and limits for deciding when to impose travel restrictions.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said earlier that a randomised test at airports must be carried out as part of the continuance of travel.
“It is not our objective to test 30%, 40% or 50%. It is not a mass testing measure. It is part of one of the measures that we are bringing in,” Donnelly said.
Minister Eamon Ryan said he’ll discuss with health and transport officials tomorrow to discuss the COVID-19 test at airports.