After much speculation, the Republic of Ireland have today released their ‘green list’ of countries to where travellers can visit without the need for quarantine on return.
The full list contains only 15 countries, but there was one startling omission – the UK.
Other popular holiday destinations not included on the list are the US, Spain, France, Germany and Portugal.
The permitted destinations are:
Cyprus
Estonia
Finland
Greece
Greenland
Gibraltar
Hungary
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Malta
Monaco
Norway
San Marino
Slovakia
This follows the announcement from Northern Ireland last week that from 10 July travellers from 59 countries would no longer need to self-isolate on arrival. The list is the same as that announced by England earlier this month.
Previously, citizens of the Republic of Ireland were expected to self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival from anywhere outside of the country, with the exception of Northern Ireland.
The Irish government continues to advise its citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to those countries not included on the list, and anyone returning from anywhere other than those 15 countries will be expected to self-quarantine when they return home.
Speaking in the Dáil yesterday, the new Taoiseach Micheál Martin explained that the government would continue to take a “cautious approach” to foreign travel.
But according to the BBC, the publication of such a list has been met by criticism from former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who claims it is sending “mixed messages” if the official advice against all non-essential travel is to remain in place.
The list will be re-evaluated every fortnight.