Carthy receives assurance on Cross-Border Vaccine Certificate
Deputy Matt Carthy has welcomed the assurance he has received from An Taoiseach Mícheál Martin that Irish citizens who availed of their vaccination in the north or in Britain will be able to access the new EU digital Covid certificate.
The Cavan Monaghan Sinn Féin representative raised the matter directly with the Taoiseach after conflicting reports emerged from government press offices, including one that indicated that there would not be access to the cert for that cohort, which he estimated could affect thousands of people in the border region.
Deputy Carthy asked the Taoiseach:
“I wish to raise the EU digital Covid certificate. In particular, I ask the Taoiseach to provide some much-needed clarity with regard to Irish citizens who were vaccinated in the North and to provide an assurance that those people will be able to avail of the EU digital Covid certificate.
“Before this morning, I understood that there was clarity on this matter. I had made several representations to the Department of Health on behalf of people who live in my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan but who work in the North. Those I was dealing with happen to work in the health services there and they have been vaccinated through the North’s programme. They have every entitlement and right, as I am sure the Taoiseach will agree, to avail of the EU’s digital Covid-19 certificate, as we would expect would be the case for all the people in the North who have been vaccinated.
“A little confusion has arisen in this regard, however, because of a statement issued by the Government press office to RTÉ which cast some doubt on the position. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, indicated on RTÉ this morning that there will be no issue. I therefore ask the Taoiseach to provide clarification and assurance regarding Irish citizens vaccinated via the programme being run by the NHS in the North being able to avail of the EU’s digital Covid-19 certificate”.
In response the Taoiseach made it clear that there will be no issue for citizens ‘on the island, north or south, in accessing the Covid digital certificate’. Deputy Carthy welcomed this statement.
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