Measures which require people travelling to Ireland to fill in a COVID-19 Passenger Locator Form, introduced late last month, have been extended for another three weeks.

The regulations came into effect on 28 May and were up for review yesterday (18 June). They will now be reviewed again on 9 July.

The measures are aimed at ensuring more accurate and quicker contact tracing of potential imported cases of the virus.

They also allow the authorities to check that those arriving into the country are following the current advice to self-isolate for 14 days.

€2,500 fine

Those who fail to complete a form, fail to provide information or provide false or misleading information face a fine of up to €2,500 or imprisonment for up to six months.

On Thursday, NPHET said there had been a small increase in travel-related COVID-19 cases in recent days.

Claims

The government is still advising against non-essential foreign travel and some insurance companies have warned that travellers’ policies will not cover claims linked to travel undertaken against official advice.

“In general, if a policy holder decides to travel at a time when the government advises against non-essential travel, they would be in danger of invalidating their travel insurance,” said Insurance Ireland.

'Catastrophic'

Meanwhile, Aer Lingus has announced plans to cut up to 500 jobs, blaming the “catastrophic” effect of COVID-19 restrictions on travel.

The airline, which is owned by IAG, hit out at the Irish government’s 14-day quarantine requirement for arriving passengers, and its advice against all non-essential travel.

"Ireland has failed to take steps that other European member states have taken,” Aer Lingus said, adding that other EU countries had “progressively restored transport services and connectivity in response to a European Commission invitation to do so”.