Visitors from Britain face penalties if they fail to show negative Covid test

Visitors from Britain or South Africa from Saturday will face fines of €2,500 or six months' imprisonment on prosecution if they fail to present a negative Covid-19 on their arrival.

The Government has introduced the requirement for these visitors to present a negative PCR test – the polymerase chain reaction or standard test used to detect the virus – on their arrival.

The test must have been taken up to 72 hours prior to their arrival and proof of the negative test must be presented to State border management officials at airports or the Garda at ports by visitors when they show their passports to State immigration officials.

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said that the additional measure was being introduced in "very unique circumstances" in response to the surge in infections and the new infectious variants of coronavirus detected in Britain and South Africa.

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Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that 41 per cent of visitors from Britain over the Christmas period, who tested positive, had the new mutant strain of the virus, which, he said, was up to 70 per cent more infectious than earlier strains.

“It is a very worrying factor amongst a whole range of worrying factors,” he said.

Asked about whether Northern Ireland would apply the same restrictive measures on visitors with the Border, Mr Ryan said the Stormont executive would "have to make their own call".

Mr Martin said that this was a “problem” and “not easy” but he expected closer co-ordination in public health measures north and south in response to increased infections.

“They are two different jurisdictions, two different political executives and set-ups and therein lies the challenge, but there will be probably the greatest degree of alignment now between Northern Ireland and the Republic on public health issues than there has been for some time,” he said.

Mr Ryan said the measure would be applied first to Britain and South Africa and would then be broadened after this weekend and applied to visitors from other jurisdictions.

The Government would first talk to the European Commission, other governments and travel operators before the measures were extended to the countries, he said.

Visitors would still have to self-isolate for two weeks even with a negative PCR test, he said.

“What we are doing now is an additional protection. It is not foolproof. Testing itself doesn’t avoid risks around false positives or false negatives particularly,” he said.

“It it not that it gives you complete cover but it gives you an extra layer.”

The Minster said that it was “a layer on top of the existing provisions” and going beyond the existing EU traffic-light system for safe travel during the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Ryan said there would be a “negligible” number of visitors affected as there was a “trickle” of travellers coming into the country, down more than 90 per cent on usual travel numbers.

The Government said the new mandatory requirement would be in place until January 31st and would be kept under review “in light of the evolving epidemiological situation”.