Passengers arriving into Ireland are now required to complete a COVID-19 Passenger Locator Form.

Any passenger arriving from overseas, whether by air or sea, will be required to fill in the form and failure to do so will be an offence.

Passengers must provide an address for where they will be staying in Ireland, as well as personal contact details. These forms may be used to conduct follow-up checks to make sure people who travel to Ireland are staying where they said they would.

They can also be used by contact tracing teams to contact passengers should there be a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19 on a flight or ferry coming into Ireland.

A number of people will not have to fill out the form, including aircraft and ship crew who are in Ireland in the course of performing their duties, those working in defined essential supply chain roles and diplomats.

Passengers who are travelling immediately onwards to Northern Ireland will have to fill out a portion of the form.

The locator form is part of new regulations that were signed by the Minister for Health, Simon Harris. These regulations introduce new offences punishable by a fine not exceeding €2,500, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or both, for the following:
-Failure to complete and give the form to a relevant person
-Providing information that to the person's knowledge is false or misleading (whether on the form, when presenting the form, or in subsequent follow-up checks)
-Failure to provide further information to a relevant person upon request (who suspects that the form has not been completed properly)
-Failure to update residence or contact details if they change within 14 days of arrival into the State.

"This is a temporary measure that is being introduced in a time of a public health crisis. The people of Ireland have managed to suppress COVID-19 in our communities, and through their actions are enabling the resumption of social and economic life.

"The Government is concerned that as we move towards the easing of measures, the risk of importing new cases through non-essential travel increases. The introduction of these rules is aimed at limiting this risk," Minister Harris commented.

Meanwhile, Government guidelines asking those who arrive in Ireland to self-isolate for a period of 14 days remain in place.