Passengers arriving in the State from anywhere other than Northern Ireland will be required to supply a negative/'non-detected' Covid-19 test, from tomorrow.
A PCR test must be taken no more than three days prior to the passenger's arrival in Ireland and will be asked to supply the result prior to boarding their flight or ferry and when they pass through immigration when entering the country.
According to the Government's website: "Passengers who arrive in an Irish airport or sea port without evidence of a negative/‘not detected’ test result commit an offence and may be subject to prosecution."
Passengers who fail to supply their test result may receive a fine up to €2,500, a prison sentence of up to six months, or both.
Exemptions
International transport workers, including hauliers and pilots, are exempt from the new requirements when travelling as part of their work, while children under the age of six are also exempt, however they are encouraged to restrict their movements for 14 days.
Passengers arriving in Ireland for connecting flights who will not be leaving the airport are also exempt from supplying a test result.
In addition to the new requirements, the Government's advice for international travel remains the same. People are asked to avoid non-essential journeys and those who must travel are asked to follow all public health measures upon their arrival.
Passengers arriving in Ireland must fill out a Covid-19 Passenger Locator Form, while a 5km travel limit from your place of residence also remains in place under currently Level 5 restrictions.
Passengers arriving from Great Britain and South Africa must also self-isolate, staying in a room away from other people, for 14 days and contact a GP to arrange a Covid test, whether they have symptoms or not, as part of the country's attempts to suppress the spread of two new variants of the virus.
In a statement from the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) today, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said passengers from Brazil must self-isolate for 14 days.
"New variants of Covid-19 have recently been identified in Brazil, and in travellers to Japan from Brazil. There is no evidence of these variants in Ireland.
"Anyone who has travelled from Brazil in the last 14 days is advised to self-isolate for 14 days, from the date of arrival, and identify themselves, through a GP, for testing as soon as possible," Dr Holohan said.
"It is essential that anyone arriving from Brazil self-isolate for 14 days from the date of arrival before entering/re-entering the workplace. We are particularly appealing to employers to enable their employees to protect each other by staying at home for the full 14 days," he added.
More information regarding international travel can be found on the Government website.
