Ryanair, Ireland’s largest airline, today (Fri 28^th Aug) called on the Irish Government to urgently revise Ireland’s Green List to include all those EU countries with lower Covid case rates than Ireland including Portugal, Poland, Bulgaria, Denmark, Cyprus, the UK, and Germany.

              Source: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control 

A spokesperson for Ryanair said:

“In recent weeks while NPHET has continued to keep Ireland uniquely locked up to international travel, many other EU countries (which allowed the return of intra-EU air travel since 1 July last), have delivered significantly lower Covid case rates than Ireland, mainly due to faster test and trace services. Most notably Germany, with a 14 day Covid case rate of just 21, and the UK at 22,  are remarkably similar to Italy’s low Covid case of just 18 per 100,000 pop. Despite Ireland maintaining the most restrictive travel quarantine restrictions in Europe, Ireland’s Covid case rate has risen to over 30.

There is no longer any justification for maintaining a failed quarantine on flights to/from other EU countries, which have lower Covid case rates than Ireland including Portugal, Poland, Denmark, the UK and Germany.

Ireland’s case rates continues to rise because NPHET have failed to deliver an effective track and trace system. While citizens of Northern Ireland can travel to and from Dublin Airport to over 50 countries, citizens of the Republic can only travel without quarantine to 9 countries. The UK science and medical experts have delivered lower Covid case rates than NPHET, yet they permit safe air travel to and from over 50 countries without quarantine.

It’s time to end NPHET’s mismanagement of Ireland’s Green List and immediately add those other EU countries, most notably the UK and Germany, to Ireland’s Green List so that business travel and other economic activity can commence now that Ireland’s schools have reopened, and the claimed risk of family holidays has receded”.