Gone with the golden ticket

By Gemma Good

Travel restrictions are set to lift next Monday, July 19 with the introduction of a new certificate to allow holiday makers venture abroad.

The Digital Covid Certificate (DCC) is to come into force in Ireland on this date. The authorities began issuing certificates by email this week.

Certificate holders will be permitted to travel freely within the European Union, with no obligation to quarantine on arrival. It will be issued to those who are fully vaccinated, have recovered from COVID-19 within the last six months, or can provide a negative PCR test.

Local travel agent, Siobhan Geraghty of Cavan Travel, is hopeful the certs will boost business and give more certainty to travellers.

“It’s a government run system and I understand that they will be emailing and posting them out,” she said.

Cavan Travel have already had customers contact them about the DCC.

“We give a general overview of what the DCC means,” she says.

While some people have already received their certs, non-essential travel restrictions remain in place until July 19.

“That’s the official date for when non-essential travel can resume,” Siobhan explained.

“That’s when it [the DCC] will take effect in Ireland.”

She explained the necessity of the Covid-19 Certificate.

“It’s to allow free movement within the EU so you wouldn’t travel without it, it’s speedier and more efficient to have it.”

Asked if people are travelling without the certificate, Siobhan said Cavan Travel is not advising or selling foreign holidays before the official date.

“There’s still a non-essential travel advisory in place from the Government.

“Strictly speaking, you’re not supposed to travel for non-essential reasons.”

The certificate has been introduced in Ireland in the midst of the holiday season, 19 days later than the rest of EU member countries, where the cert came into force on July 1. The delay here was put down to the impact of the cyber attack on HSE IT systems. Siobhan sees this as an opportunity for Ireland to monitor the situation in other countries.

“I don’t think two to three weeks is going to make a huge amount of difference to be honest.

“We’re just being a little more cautious and we’re just seeing how it works with other countries first.”

The travel agent does not expect a huge rush when the non-essential travel ban is lifted.

“People aren’t really travelling that much in any great numbers anyway, Irish people are being more cautious about travel.

“I don’t expect the floodgates to open on July 19,” she predicted.

Cavan Travel has taken some bookings for when travel restrictions are lifted.

“We’ve people looking to book from the end of September onwards,” she revealed.

The majority of people who have booked are heading to “the old reliables,” Portugal and the Canary Islands. Siobhan said she believes Covid rates in the Canary Islands are low currently but warned “anything can change overnight, nothing is setting stone”.

She said it is “mostly couples” who are jetting away with additional expenses on families due to the pandemic.

“Children generally still have to have the PCR test,” she explained.

“That adds greatly to the cost.”

If needed, a PCR test must be completed within 72 hours of a flight, both outbound and inbound.

Dublin Airport provides on-site testing through two private companies.

A PCR test with RocDoc Health Check costs €95, while a test with Randox costs €69. Both promise results within 24 hours, however they must be pre-booked.

For a family of four to travel to Gran Canaria and back to Ireland, the cost is €760 for testing alone, using the most rapid means of testing.

“All the tourist destinations will have centres where you can get PCR tests done but that is something that people will have to organise themselves,” Siobhan said.

If a holidaymaker picks up Covid abroad, they will not be able to travel home.

“They will have to follow the medical advice of whatever country they are in, that’s why it’s important to have travel insurance.”

Cavan Travel “strongly advise” people to have travel insurance, which can be purchased at an additional cost. She also guided people to ensure their passports are in date and said to leave two to three hours before a flight.

“They will be checking the digital cert so that is an extra check,” she said.

As a final word she told tourists to “follow the Government guidelines and check on the different websites to keep up to date with Covid levels and instructions”.

Further information can be found on www.dfa.ie, www.gov.ie and reopen.europa.eu

The DCC is free of charge and will be available in paper and digital format. It contains a specific QR code, which will be scanned in EU airports. The holder’s name, date of birth, COVID-19 information and the date of issue will be available on the certificate but will not be stored.