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Everything we know about holidays in Spain for Irish tourists from date to requirements (Irish Mirror)

 8 May (Irish Mirror).- For those that fancy a holiday abroad, here’s the state of play

Paul Moore, 8 May (Irish Mirror).-

While Ireland continues to move out of Level 5 lockdown and remove some of the domestic travel rules that the public has adhered to since December, the subject of international travel has yet to be clarified.

At present, the message from various government ministers is that this summer will be outdoor based with staycations and domestic holidays being encouraged.

However, in recent days, certain remarks have offered hope that a holiday abroad could be on the cards later this year.

At present, here’s the state of play regarding…

The rules in place for Spain

It should be noted that there is a Government advisory in place which warns against all non-essential international travel.

Travel restrictions are in place to protect public health and to mitigate the risk of new variants of Covid-19 entering the country.

owever, all passengers arriving in Spain (this includes the mainland as well as Canary and Balearic Islands) from Ireland must:

  • Present evidence of a negative Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours prior to arrival
  • Submit a completed Locator Form. This form can be completed on-line via the Spain Travel Health website or app.

The evidence of a negative test from either a PCR, LAMP or TMA test – taken within 72 hours prior to arrival – can be provided to the Spanish authorities electronically or via hardcopy.

Extra regulations for the Canary Islands

At present, further entry restrictions apply to parts of the Canary Islands and they vary depending on your destination and situation.

Detailed information in relation to Covid-19 related restrictions is available on the official Canary Islands Tourism website .

Visitors to the Canary Islands are also asked to download and activate the Radar COVID app during their stay, and for 15 days after their departure.

Spain and the EU

Spain uses the EU traffic light system and, guided by ECDC data, maintains a list of high-risk countries. This list is reviewed every fortnight.

Because Ireland is currently included on this list of high-risk countries, that’s why passengers from Ireland are required to present evidence of a negative Covid-19 test.

Anyone intending to travel to Spain is advised to confirm the conditions and restrictions that are in place with their tour operator, airline and accommodation provider before travel.

What have the Spanish government said?

The Spanish Tourism Office recently announced that the country will be open for business in June, and they will be implementing the EU Covid-19 certificate by then.

Currently, to enter the country, all travellers must complete a Health Check Form, which can be done online.

What about the EU green card?

Irish sunseekers could be hitting the beaches of Greece and Spain without a vaccine before the end of next month.

Europe’s Covid Green Cert which allows holidays abroad again is on the way to Ireland, with ratification by the EU expected by the end of June.

Minister for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, confirmed that Irish citizens will benefit from this new policy. Speaking in the Seanad on Friday afternoon, he said “this will happen.”

Mr Byrne also confirmed that vaccination will not be needed for travel within the EU as the new Green pass, commonly referred to as a vaccine passport, will also have a section showing a negative test result.

The Minister said: “Vaccination will not be a requirement for free movement, that’s why there are three parts to the Certificate.”

And he added that it will be a “legal obligation” for the Government to bring in the regulation and a “legal right” for people to get it.

This will allow for greater numbers to travel as it will allow you to jet away if you are still waiting for your jab, as long as you can prove you’re negative for Covid.

There will be three parts to the certificates, with each showing vaccination, test, and recovery.

The Irish Mirror understands that the European Parliament and the Member States will sanction the Green Certificate next month, “probably towards the end,” a senior EU source said, which will allow “keen countries like Spain and Greece” to introduce it straightaway.

Each Member State has six weeks to ratify it after the EU Parliament gives it the green light.

On this topic, a recent statement from the EU Commission read: “The (European) Commission proposes to allow entry to the EU for non-essential reasons not only for all persons coming from countries with a good epidemiological situation but also all people who have received the last recommended dose of an EU-authorised vaccine.”

“This could be extended to vaccines having completed the WHO emergency use listing process. In addition, the Commission proposes to raise… the threshold related to the number of new Covid-19 cases used to determine a list of countries from which all travel should be permitted”.

Alfredo Gonzales, the Spanish General Secretary of Digital Health, said the system should be operational by June.

He explained: “It will allow for more people to arrive in a safer manner and facilitate the mobility of people in the European Union, guarantee public health protection and permit social and economic activity to resume free of charge.”

When will the government allow more freedom to travel abroad?

At present, international travel is deemed to be one of the “higher-risk activities” that will be considered at the end of June with a view to it returning later in the year.

However, recent comments that were made by senior ministers about the prospect of international travel have been quite positive.

The Foreign Affairs Minister recently said that international travel could be back on the cards as early as July.

Speaking to The Tonight Show on Virgin Media One, Simon Coveney said: “The likely scenario here is that certainly in August but perhaps even in July we may well see international travel being a possibility again for people who are fully vaccinated.

“We will act with probably more caution than many other countries within the European Union and that’s because I think as an island we have managed to get Covid levels down to a manageable level.

“Another seven people have lost their lives to Covid as of today so we need to be cautious and we need to make sure that international travel is not essentially reseeding Covid infections in communities in Ireland.”

Meanwhile. Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan echoed Minister Coveney’s remarks but warned that there would still be obstacles in the future.

Speaking on RTE’s Morning Ireland, Minister Ryan said: “We have to be careful, particularly in the next few weeks but we are very close now to being in a much safer place. Yes, I expect further measures to be relaxed in June and then again in July and August including the opening up of international travel, the return to college, and the return to workplaces for those who aren’t already in the workplace.

“There will be a return to much more normal life. But the critical thing is that we go into the autumn and we have the further back up that ongoing vaccination covers any potential variants.”

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