Fine Gael TD for Dublin Fingal, Alan Farrell, has urged the public not to engage in international travel, despite the publication of the ‘Green-List’.
Deputy Farrell said, “The continued message from the Government is that non-essential travel should be avoided by all people living in Ireland. However, we know that approximately 50,000 people are traveling each week from Ireland, some of these people are indeed travelling for essential reasons but some are not.”
“The ‘Green List’ has been published in light of this reality. The Green List reflects the countries that have the same rate, or lower, of infection over the past 14 days. Countries that are not on the list are deemed to have a higher risk than that of the risk presently posed in Ireland.”
Deputy Farrell continued, “This list is not a license to travel to these countries and should not be seen as an encouragement to do so, but it is a way of reducing the possible risks if international travel is to take place.”
“We are in a critical phase in our battle against Covid-19, through the hard-work and sacrifice of the Irish people, we managed to flatten the curve and save thousands of lives. We have asked a lot of our people and it is natural that as we reopen our society there are temptations to become complacent, however, we must not give in now.”
Deputy Farrell added, “To travel unnecessarily is to jeopardise the success we’ve had to date. We need to prevent a second wave of the virus this autumn and refraining from international travel is a significant step towards this goal. The Green List should not be used to justify unnecessary travel.”