The Irish Government recently brought in an on the spot fine of €500 (£435, US$605, AU$780) for people travelling out of the country for non-essential reasons. The fun news is that Ireland increases the fine to €2,000 (£1,750, US$2,425, AU$3,130) very shortly.
To add insult to injury, the Tánaiste (the Irish deputy Prime Minister) has stated the advice not to travel abroad will likely stay in place through 2021 and into 2022. Looks like it’ll be staycations for all, doesn’t it?
Ireland increases the fine… but why?
Turns out that people travelling at the moment for holidays are just paying the €500 fine and heading off. Since it hasn’t appeared to be much of a deterrent, the fine is increasing.
To be quite honest, if I was desperate to get away, €500 would be okay. When you consider how cheap airfares and accommodation are right now, you’re probably not really that much out of pocket. €2,000 on the other hand should really put the brakes on things.
Staycation Year 2021?
Once Ireland’s lockdown comes to an end, we should be able to travel internally again. Looks like the only flying will be the domestic services. I’ve flown the Dublin to Donegal service before and it’s fun, plus you get one of the most scenic approaches in the world on landing.
Looks like my other option is the only other domestic route in Ireland, Dublin to Kerry. It will tick off that airport from the list, plus I can get the train there and fly back, to make a nice break of it. Of course, there’s also the Enterprise Train to Belfast, but that currently counts as going abroad, though I’m sure that will be the first thing to change.
Overall Thoughts
So, Ireland increases the fine and we all get to stay home for another year. It is not too surprising, considering Europe’s slow vaccination rate and of course the jury being out as to whether being vaccinated prevents transmission or not.
Let’s hope the travel industry survives for people to actually be able to go away. It’s a precarious situation for that industry and everyone is waiting for their chance to support them with future travel bookings.
What do you think of all of this? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image of King John’s Castle in Limerick by MonikaKub via Wikimedia Commons.
crazy Irish government overkill!!! hope they can survive without the tourists $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Everyone here is hoping the same thing!
How about just stop over in Ireland
What, at the airport for 2 hours before taking another flight? I imagine that is okay but do check before booking anything.
Hopefully Trent, there are some parts of Ireland you have yet to explore. I know I’m sticking to the US for the foreseeable future.
Oh, there is always somewhere to go! Plenty of Ireland still to explore and it’s a gorgeous country, so I can’t really complain.
It doesn’t make sense. Ireland has a population of about 5 million and about 300k are vaccinated. It’s one of the better EU countries in that regard. Imagine late Summer when half the population is vaccinated and still locked down. Crazy.
I agree with you. I think they’re expecting 70% vaccinated by September, is what I recall seeing. Ireland doesn’t have the most well funded health service in the world, so perhaps that is an element here.
A problem with Ireland’s ban on non essential international travel is that they may become like Canada. Canada bans Americans from entering Canada, except for essential travel. However, most of the reasons for essential travel are non-essential and many essential reasons for travel are deemed non-essential. Justin Trudeau is nuts.
Yes, that’s always an issue, who is the arbiter of what is and isn’t non-essential… what might be non-essential to one person might be essential to another. It’s a slippery slope, that’s for sure!