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LAST UPDATE | 8 Jul 2021
THE GOVERNMENT WILL issue 1.9 million EU Covid-19 digital passes from next Monday 12 July but they won’t be necessary for international travel, says Minister of State Ossian Smyth.
The EU document – essentially a QR code available on smartphones or on paper – will be available to those who have been fully vaccinated, who have acquired natural immunity through contracting Covid-19 in the last six months, or who have a recent negative PCR test will be eligible for the Covid pass.
Smyth, the Government’s spokesperson for public procurement and eGovernment, told Morning Ireland that the digital cert is not a prerequisite for travel but it will make it faster and easier going through the airport when non-essential international travel returns on 19 July.
He said people without a cert or who aren’t vaccinated may still travel on their existing documentation, but they will still need a negative PCR test result.
“If for any reason, you don’t have a certificate, for example, if you’re not vaccinated for whatever reason, you can still travel on your existing documentation. That hasn’t changed,” he said.
“If you can show evidence that you’ve been vaccinated or that you’ve been tested, you can still travel. It’s not a prerequisite for travel, you don’t have to have a digital Covid cert to travel on Monday week. But it does make it faster.
“If you want to go to Spain, or you want to go to France, you don’t have to have a digital Covid cert, it makes it faster and easier going through the airport. But if you don’t have it, you can still travel on your existing documentation.
“The rules about isolation are being removed across Europe. So up to now, if you went on a short trip to France it was hardly worth it because you would have to go and isolate for a number of days – and the same in Ireland. So we’re removing those rules about isolation. If you arrive with a vaccination or test cert, you don’t have to self-isolate anymore.”
If you’re travelling within the EU you can check what restrictions are in your destination country here, while details of non-EU country restrictions can be found here.
Smyth added: “If you have a Digital Covid Cert they will scan it, if you don’t have that, but you have some proof that you’ve been vaccinated or tested and it can’t be scanned, it’s just compared against your passport.”
He said in the worst-case scenario people can avail of a test in the airport if they don’t have any documentation.
People who require a negative test to obtain a Digital Covid Cert will not be able to use the HSE’s free testing service to do so and instead will be required to go through a private provider.
Private testing providers will be able to issue digital covid certs if the antigen or RT-PCR test is negative and taken no more than 72 hours before arrival. A cert based on an antigen test will not be accepted for entry to Ireland but is acceptable in a number of other countries.
A Digital Covid Cert call centre will be set up in the coming days t0 allow people to call and request a cert if they are entitled to one through natural immunity.
That call centre will also deal with queries from people who are fully vaccinated but have not yet received a Digital Covid Cert.
Smyth said that people who’ve been vaccinated at a mass vaccination centre will receive their cert via email while those who went to a doctor, pharmacist or hospital will receive it in the post, “and it’s a sheet of paper.”
Talks are set to resume this afternoon between government and representatives from the hospitality sector as part of efforts to bring about the return of indoor dining.
A number of options are said to be on the table following a similar meeting on Monday, when those attending were told that indoor dining could possibly reopen for 1.8 million fully vaccinated people under the new vaccine pass system.
Smyth said the certs may be used by the hospitality sector but that details were still being “firmed up”.
“I think they are looking at using these digital certs for entry and I think a proposal is likely to be brought to Cabinet on Tuesday in that regard in case any new laws or regulations are required to operationalise that reopening,” he said.
“The important thing is that any scheme that comes up is supported by the restaurants and the pubs as being workable and reasonable and actually something that they want to use.”
The Licensed Vintners’ Association has said it feels it has “no option” but to accept the government’s proposals.
LVA Chief Executive Donall O’Keeffe said the group feels it is “deeply problematic on a practical level” but that “when the choice comes down to this proposal or staying closed for several more months, we feel we have no option but to go along with it”.
“With some pubs having now been shut for almost 16 consecutive months we’re being put over a barrel because we have to get the sector open or more businesses will go bust and thousands more will lose their livelihoods,” O’Keeffe said.
“The system they are putting forward is open to abuse and there will be real questions and concerns in the coming weeks as to whether everyone claiming to be vaccinated will be. It is also deeply unfair and discriminatory towards hospitality staff and others who may not yet have been vaccinated or who are unable to do so for various reasons,” he said.
“We are expecting major problems on the ground such as individuals seeking to gain access under false pretences. Tourists that arrive here on a negative PCR test won’t be permitted indoors.
“We have received many reports of members of the public taking serious objections to providing a single contact number for a group and that creating aggravation for the staff involved, so we do anticipate there will be even more difficulties once this approach is implemented.”
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Just wondering when those same offended people will get those diet coke ads banned, it’s ok to sexually objectify men? Well ok then.
I’m not offended by it but aren’t those diet coke ads gone years? Have they not been replaced by puppets for yonks now? And besides men keep harping back to that one single ad when women are bombarded with half naked ladies in the media all the time….again though, I’m not offended at all, just, eh, I dunno, saying I suppose.
To be fair, there is one Diet Coke ad, while there are thousands of companies using scantily clad women to sell their products. Men have a long way to go before they are objectified as much as women in advertising.
I think that long march towards objectification is over there Mike, this is a recent abacrombie ad:
http://cdn01.cdn.socialitelife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/28/abercrombe-fitch-ad-03282012-01.jpg
There were no women in the ad, this was pure objectification of the male form.
I’m women are willing to be objectified and are comfortable with it then what’s the problem?
If a grown woman wants to be apart of a campaign like this then more power to her. Why can’t women on an individual basis decide for themselves if they want to take part in such campaigns.
It seems the jealous feminists wouldn’t like this too much.
Any more links like that Ryan? Purely for research reasons of course…ahem…
I’m gonna go ahead and say something controversial that might get people yelling at me…..but this is part of a wider trend, I think, where certain people want women (And this , oddly, includes some women) to be ashamed of their sexuality.
Women today live in mortal fear of the s word, and guys apply it and terms like it far too liberally (idiot str8 guys not realizing that by having tthat attitude they are reducing their own chances of getting laid). So they’re forced to say things, after one night stands like ”God I was hammered, I don’t usually do this” and the guy has to knowledge that in a way of ”yeh you don’t seem like that type” …so what if she wants to have the one night stand, so what if she wants to have 10? The guy can…and he’s a ”legend” if he does. Don’t give me the old key and lock story cos it’s nonsense, and sure guys are more programmed to be promiscuous, more so than women, but that does not mean women can’t have a sex drive.
This is part of the same attitude problem, if a woman shows any sexuality or uses her sexuality in any way she should be ashamed, she’s undermining other women , she’s being easy and too open, she’s letting down women who don’t have that figure etc
I say this as someone who has faced death recently and may yet fall to it, lifes hard, life can be really s__t, you have to make the good things, the bad things will show up on their own, so don’t go intentionally denying yourself good things because of fear of what other people are gonna think, f__k um, anyone casting that much judgement isn’t gonna be a bundle of contentment themselves so why listen to them.
Women should be able to use their sexuality without anyone hurling abuse at them, casting judgement at them, or projecting value judgements into the situation that are not there (like the presumption implied that if you don’t have that figure you’re less of a woman, nobody said that, so don’t insert it into the picture)
Ok so…roll on the abuse…
Ryan you aren’t wrong exactly. In advertising though it’s the advertisers that make money off women’s bodies. The models just need to make money and they go to whatever’s available for them. If the models were self employed it would be a case of them choosing to portray their own sexuality or whatever. It’s just a little unfortunate that roles available for women are little bit limiting.
I don’t think that’s controversial, I 100% agree with you. Everything you said. I don’t understand what the problem is with a little objectification anyway we’re not robots, we are literally made for sex, it’s instinct and not something to be ashamed of. I was only pointing out a small case of hypocrisy above, surely I can be allowed to notice hypocrisy without being reduced to a slutshaming feminist? My point, as badly as it seems to have been made, is that while there is some, there is not as many ads with attractive men in them and i for one would like to see more! The female of the species definitely dominate the sex-sells marketing.
Wow I really split people right down the middle with that…sorry but I just don’t think this ”objectification” thing means anything, it’s like the ”ethos” thing with religious schools, it’s a word with no meaning behind it, an empty buzz word people are using to fuel an agenda, in this case a shame-filled agenda.
I think those of you trying to shame women into not doing this kind of stuff are doing far more damage than the ad itself. There the issue of body image disorders but that’s more a psychological problem than a sociological problem. Most of the time those issues have their roots in the individuals self confidence issues and the body image problem is just how it manifested itself.
@Joanna anyone I know working as models are very well compensated for their job and the ones that go on the store openings get great holidays in nice hotels out of it as well, for the girls and the guys it’s an enjoyable fun excursion, they don’t feel objectified.
They’ve issues with how their image is used sometimes, like the women get very angry if they see it’s been airbrushed but that’s a different complaint IMO cos that’s projecting something out there not based in reality
Hi Amy – just to let you know i am made for sex too.
By splitting people down the middle Ryan did you mean Joanna and Amy -the two who posted after you?
@Ryan that’s fine, really. And I’m not shaming anyone for their choices or whatever. But portrayal of women, particularly male dominated areas like driving, is limited and some people are getting a little tired of it. That’s all.
I agree with you on gender caricatures, big time. It’s why I bought my niece a ‘President Barbie’ doll, because I want her to have horizons bigger than the cookie cutter role society says she has to fit, you can be a nurse guys are doctors etc no you can be either one they’re both important jobs.
One of the things that used to really make my blood boil were sexuality caricatures, every gay guy on TV was a screaming limp-wristed queen who hated sports and hung out with a pack of women it used to really annoy me, even today I get this confused hesitation ”really…you don’t look …” yes..yes…I know..
TV shows have started to correct that now and they show a more balanced perspective but there is still a long way to go, women in media still have a long way to go on that score.
It’s the shaming of female sexuality that bothers me, we get outraged in Ireland if we see a woman in a burqua but we put women in a social version of it in many respects here still, we keep patting ourselves on the back for how liberal we’ve become as a society but how far have we really come? Were still very repressed. How many out gay/bi rugby players do we have about university level? I don’t know of a single one, the same in other sports. Irish society still has a long way to go to learn to stop casting judgement.
Jeez guys lighten up; I don’t find the diet coke or Abercrombie ads offensive and I don’t think any man should. If a man find those ads offensive then maybe it says more about his self-esteem and confidence than anything else. My advice is to spend more time working on your self-esteem and confidence that trawling the media looking to be offended. Trust me it works and you’ll be happier.
I trust you Blueskythinking.
I love the diet coke ads.
If anyone from marketing in diet coke is reading this. I would really like the next ad to feature a soldier. I do have a thing for men in military combat uniform.
All this talk of hot male bodies is getting me sidetracked. What I was I here to moan about?
I trust you too Sergeant Yates…will you have my babies?
@Ryan
Wow you found one other ad! Compared to thousands for women…
I love the Uber ads.
If anyone from marketing in Uber is reading this. I would really like the next ad to feature a Secretary. I do have a thing for women behind a desk.
All this talk of hot female bodies is getting me sidetracked. What I was I here to moan about?
@Blueskythinking – sure why not… you are a girl right?
Read my comment above, and then read the comment left by Lily a little bit further up. Look at the contrast in red/green thumbs………says it all really, about how much you an really say about males/females.
Awkward Sergeant Yates…I thought you were a girl…this isn’t going to do my self esteem & confidence any good!
Aww poor Shane.
I can don a pair of glasses tie my hair in a bun, wear a short skirt and open my white see through blouse so my breasts will be visible along with my black silk bra . I can wear a pair of stockings and red stiletto heals and sit behind a desk for you.
I would then bend you over the desk, take out my ruler and slap your arse for making fun of my comment.
Bad bad secretary. ..
Should I keep on my beret Lily?
Please xx
As long as your shirt is off.
Unzip your combats, but keep them on. ;)
On the desk is just fine…
You sound just like my drill sergeant.
Boots?
On.
Xx
Jeez its getting hot in here.
Does your boss know what you get up to when you stay back “to catch up on some work”?
You lost lily Shane. You needed to go in for the kill. Now she’s probably getting diggity with the guy who delivers the diet coke to the machine. Norm is his name.
No, it’s not a reflection on the sexes, it’s a reflection on a failed attempt at humour!
Norm! The b@stard…
Well Amey, hope ypu enjoy this advert for waders!! Lol. http://www.moldychum.com/home-old/2010/6/11/friday-pin-up-equal-opportunity-edition.html?currentPage=2
Picture a reversal of the Take Me Out tv show, with one girl in the centre and 15 guys turning their lights out, refusing to date her because they don’t like her shoes or hair, etc.
There would be hell to pay
Objectify me goddammit!
Question: why is goddammit allowed to be used when we have perfectly legimate blasphemy laws in place to stop this kind of talk. I’m going to make a complaint. I would like to sue the person who allowed me to say g******t. Terrible carry on.
Jesus christ i’m really splitting people down the middle on this whole blasphemy thing.. i think its important we respect each others beliefs #peace
Please, please tell me you don’t actually watch that show John!
Funny that Diet Coke is the only one you can think of, isn’t it? Yes I hate those diet coke ads. No, it’s not equivalent in this situation.
What about all the ads that depict men as bumbling fools incapable of loading the diswasher/looking after the kids/making dinner/mowing the lawn without the help of their better halves?
Men are depicted as either apes or children in the majority of advertisements these days.
And don’t lie, you loved the Diet Coke ad.
Double standards between Barbie and He-man
If you want an example of how guys sex appeal is used in marketing all you have to do is take a look at a Hollister or A&F store opening. If it’s in the summer the guys are in above knee shorts, flip flops and shirtless with the shorts about as low down their V as it’s possible to get without the shorts coming off. Even when the stores are open there is often a guy standing RIGHT BESIDE the girl greeter and generally the guy is showing far more skin than the girl.
I suppose none of the girls screaming and taking shots with their iphones at those store openings are just ecstatic because they think the shorts are a great fashion statement? and it’s nothing to do with the nearly naked ripped guys?
This kind of thing is pure faux controversy. Marketing exploits everyone equally these days.
It’s not just a one shot example either, the coke ad, think about the charity rugby calenders that come out every year, think about how many male soap stars are chosen for their looks rather than acting ability, think about how many totally unnecessary shirtless scenes are in those soaps…even a guy with a great body does not have his top off that much, they’re not idiots, they’re not doing it for nothing, they’re doing it because female (and some male) viewers wanna see it.
Look at Spartacus, all the women (and once more some guys) watching that for it’s historical accuracy? You think those Orgy scenes were there for kicks?
What was the ratio of naked or half naked guys to naked women in that show ? 100:1? at least!
Guilty your honour…
It’s almost as if the media is pitting men and women against each other. In ads geared towards men, the women are sexy things. In ads geared towards women, the men are morons. It’s an incredibly insidious pattern that implies that men and women can’t treat each other like people.
Its almost as if marketing companies want you discussing their ads on comment forums aiming their ads at people on comment forms – commenting. All the ads are aimed at humans.. and some will like some won’t some objectify some don’t – but sure as long as we’re discussing it.. brand brand brand. Derp derp derp derpity derp.
Joanna there is a real issue, gender caricatures are a real issue, airbrushing people so they look like something no healthy human being should look like is a real issue, body image disorders are a real issue but Objectification is a vague nonissue imo
It’s not even really as black and white as men and women being pitched against each other. Take the Hollister example, people assume the half naked guys are aimed at the women customers…and they are to an extent, but they’re also aimed at the male customers, if you wanna be associated with this slick brand that screams sex appeal then buy our stuff, if you have this body type we make stuff designed to accentuate that body type to make you look your best. The branding strategy there is mixed it’s not just gender v gender it’s more complicated.
The argument that it’s women only being used for sex appeal was definitely valid up until about the early 2000s but I think now it’s a dated complaint. When I started working out in school and doign what today they call ‘metrosexual’ grooming I was the only person in my year who was doing this, 2-3 years later and it’s a full blown fad to be ripped and spit polished rather than the old skool hairy and mean male. Once that metro trend took off then they started using guys as sex appeal for marketing all the time and that’s starting to put this argument to bed.
You’d wanna be hard up not to love them models….
have your say