A legal loophole in the Covid-19 restrictions regarding cross-border travel is expected to be shut when the Dáil meets this Thursday.
There has been uproar since it emerged that Garda headquarters had informed senior officers across the State the restrictions on movement do not apply to people on day trips from Northern Ireland.
Gardaí in the border region have also been ordered not to arrest anyone from the North for suspected breaches of the Covid-19 regulations because they do not have the power to do so under the legislation introduced by the Government. The gap in legislation which gardaí have been told to adhere to relates to all those living outside the State.
Donegal TD Pádraig Mac Lochlainn described the situation as a “mess up”. But he said the matter could be rectified in time for the bank holiday weekend.
“If we go back a couple of weeks to the Easter bank holiday weekend, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan stated on RTE radio that we would have to knock on the doors of holiday homes and ask people to return home. Later that same day the Garda Commissioner stated that if there was people in holiday homes then that would be their assumed place of residence and they would have to stay there. So you had a confusing message coming out then.
“Now what is confirmed is that the enforcement part of the legislation is not available to gardaí when it comes to residents in the six counties. Yes they can explain to them, they can engage with them but enforcement is not possible. It’s a mess up.”
Sinn Féin TD Padraig Mac Lochlainn.
Deputy Mac Lochlainn said that with the Dáil due to meet on Thursday, Sinn Féin will be pushing to have the legal lacuna closed. He also stressed that in terms of those flaunting the Covid-19 restrictions, it is only a “very very small number of people”.
“The vast majority of people north and south have been adhering to the restrictive measures, that is the reality,” Mr Mac Lochlainn said.
“There was one weekend going back five or six weeks before we were in a lockdown situation and I spoke out about it then because it was wrong. But in fairness the vast majority, north and south, have been adhering to the rules and we should not be getting into a blame game because of a tiny minority of people in Donegal, in Derry, in Tyrone who are choosing to ignore the guidelines. And it does work both ways, but again we are talking about a tiny minority here.
“This is not about north versus south because the vast majority are doing the right thing. And with the Dáil sitting this Thursday this can be rectified,” Deputy Mac Lochlainn said.
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT EDITION TODAY
and get access to our archive editions dating back to 2007(CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE)