Passengers coming from Britain to the Republic and subjected to a two-week quarantine, at a time when Boris Johnson’s government has exempted Irish citizens from its own restrictions, puts the entire Common Travel Area at risk post-Brexit, according to the head of ferry operator Irish Continental Group (ICG).
ICG, owner of Irish Ferries, has seen passenger numbers slump 60 per cent so far this year amid Covid-19 travel restrictions, it said in a trading statement on Thursday.
As The Irish Times writes, the company has written to the Government arguing that a requirement that people travelling to the State should self-isolate for 14 days is not consistent in the Common Travel Area (CTA) with the UK government’s position that no such measures be taken by passengers travelling from the Republic to Britain.
“There is nothing to stop people from Britain visiting Ireland by transiting via Northern Ireland without the requirement to self-isolate, which is clearly anomalous,” ICG said.
Speaking to The Irish Times, ICG chief executive Eamonn Rothwell said: “The CTA is going to be very important to Ireland post-Brexit. We don’t want to risk the British people turning around and saying, ‘Hold on a sec, we’re letting Irish people travel to Britain but you’re forcing British people to go via Northern Ireland.’ There’s a risk that they’ll retaliate.”
The Government’s quarantine rules for travellers came into effect on May 28th and are due initially to last until June 18th.
For more click here noting the reference to ICG's decision to cancel an order for a new Dublin-Holyhead ferry with a shipbuilder, after the German shipyard company filed for protection from its creditors in April.
