The number of people travelling to and from Ireland fell by a third in January 2021 compared to December 2020 according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
There was a 34.3 per cent reduction in passengers arriving in Ireland from overseas during the month, with 108,000 people arriving in the country by air or sea.
Similarly, there was a 33.6 per cent drop in the number of people departing the State on overseas routes, noting 118,700 passengers leaving the country during the first month of the year.
Compared to the level of travel noted before the pandemic, January 2021's figures were considerably lower than that of the same month in 2020, seeing a reduction of 1.13 million passengers arriving (down 91.3 per cent) and 1.12 million fewer passengers departing (down 90.4 per cent).
Passengers from Great Britain accounted for the largest portion of arrivals in January this year (15,100 people), followed by Spain (14,700) and Poland (11,300).
Great Britain was also the most common route for passengers departing the State, with 36,700 people recorded as having made the journey by air or sea, followed by 11,700 travelling to Spain and 8,400 going to the Netherlands.
The 27 European Union countries in total accounted for 75,300 arrivals in Ireland and 60,800 departures.
Aside from Great Britain, the United States noted the largest percentage decrease in arrivals in January 2021 compared to January 2020, falling by 95.6 per cent.
Departures from Ireland to the US were also badly hit, falling by 92.6 per cent, placing the route behind Italy (95.3 per cent), Great Britain (93.3 per cent), Germany (93.5 per cent) and Belgium (92.8 per cent).
