The Government of Ireland has released the first version of its "green list" of countries, residents of which need not quarantine for 14 days upon entering Ireland. As of 22 July, these countries had incidence of COVID-19 infections at or below that or Ireland.
The Green List:
- Cyprus
- Estonia
- Finland
- Gibraltar
- Greece
- Greenland
- Hungary
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Malta
- Norway
- Monaco
- San Marino
- Slovakia
The list will be revised every 2 weeks, with countries being added or removed according to COVID-19 infection rates.
Regarding Northern Ireland:
- Residents of Northern Ireland entering Ireland directly from NI are exempt from the quarantine requirement.
- Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade continues to advise residents of Ireland against all foreign travel to destinations including the UK except for Northern Ireland.
Countries other than Northern Ireland and those on the Green List are rated either avoid non-essential travel ("orange") or do not travel ("red"). Go here for lookup by country.
Unfortunately for Irish tourism, neither the UK (England, Scotland, Wales) - normally accounting for 40% of international visits to Ireland - nor the US (home of big-spending Irish-Americans) has made the Green List (or is likely to anytime soon).
Is summer 2020 going to be "the year that never was" for Ireland tourism? Watch this space.
