The Government’s mandatory quarantine plan is “crazy” and “potentially calamitous” according to Labour leader, Alan Kelly.
Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, Mr Kelly said he could not comprehend why it would take more time to implement the quarantine plan given that Government officials from a number of departments had been tasked last May to look into the issue.
“Why was primary legislation not drafted and why were the logistics not completed before now?” he asked.
Covid-19 variants were “on tour” and a threat to the country so there needed to be a full quarantine programme in place, added Mr Kelly.
The people of the country had been “locked up” for months and could not continue like this. Measures were needed to ensure that people coming into the country did not bring the virus with them, he said.
It was obvious that gardaí needed to have some role in the plan, but private security firms could be involved as had been done in other countries, he said, with the gardaí in an “over-seeing” capacity.
“All of this should have been done before now.”
The Government was paying lip service to the issue, Mr Kelly said, adding that gardaí calling to a house to ask the occupants if they were quarantining would be very difficult and there should be mandatory quarantine in a hotel for everybody except for essential workers.
'Very concerning'
It was very concerning, he said, to have the Minister for Health on national television on Tuesday night saying people had to quarantine in their home, not in their room.
Mr Kelly also accused the Government of "incompetence" over the delays, saying: "If they needed primary legislation, how they haven't dealt with it before now, and it's going to take many more weeks, is shocking.
"It's incompetence and it's absolutely ridiculous. This really will be a significant issue because so many people are going to come into this country while the Government have been twiddling their thumbs, thinking about doing this, but most importantly, not using the time to prepare legislation to implement it."
The mandatory quarantine for international arrivals is part of the country's effort to clamp down on non-essential travel, which has also seen an increased garda presence near airports.
Gardaí have established checkpoints at Dublin Airport and have been issuing fines to people if they cannot provide a valid reason for their journey.
Under current Level 5 restrictions, people should avoid all unnecessary travel but may exercise within 5km of their home.
According to figures from Gardaí, 280 fines were issued at Dublin Airport for non-essential travel between Thursday and Sunday of last week.
Opposition support
Speaking on the same programme, the Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney called on Opposition parties to support the primary legislation required to implement the mandatory quarantine plans.
“If the Dáil cooperates then this can be done quickly,” he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.
Mr Coveney defended the delay pointing out that it had been a political decision that had taken place in the last few weeks and for which primary legislation was required.
While international travel was down 97 per cent compared to the same time last year, the Government recognised the need to add further restrictions involving mandatory quarantine, some of which would have to happen in State run facilities, he said.
When asked to clarify if people quarantining at home had to stay in their room, Mr Coveney said that there was a difference between quarantine and self-isolation and it was up to the Government to define it clearly.
Quarantine meant that people had to stay in their home while self-isolation meant that they had to confine themselves to their room, he explained.
Quarantining in the home meant that people had to restrict their movement to the home.
