The Health Minister has said the Government wants to implement the certs “as early as possible”.
Ireland may not be able to fully roll out the EU Digital Green Certificate until the middle of August because much of the country’s testing is carried out by private operators, RTÉ reports.
The document, which may be presented in a digital or paper format, will prove that a person travelling throughout the EU has either been vaccinated against Covid-19, has a recent negative test result, or has recently recovered from the virus.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland on Friday that the certificate will allow “fully vaccinated people to travel right across the EU”.
The certificates are expected to begin to be implemented in Ireland in early July with a six-week transition period after that available in order to set up the technology necessary for their introduction.
Asked if Ireland will be able to implement the certificates fully by the start of July, Donnelly responded: “Well as early as possible,” adding: “Certainly the Government’s view is we need to participate in this as early as possible.”
However, sources have told RTÉ it is believed Ireland will need to take advantage of the transition period because of the complexity involved in registering Covid-19 testing carried out by private operators on the centralised EU platform.
While in some countries Covid-19 testing is state-run, in Ireland much of the testing is undertaken by private companies and sources say it’s more difficult for a private company to register its system on the EU platform.
Though it’s understood Ireland’s Covid-19 vaccination documents will be fully compatible with the EU certificate, there is concern private testing certificates will take longer to fit into the system.
However, RTÉ reports that many countries will still accept proof of Covid-19 vaccination and negative Covid-19 tests upon entry, even if they are not fully registered on the EU certificates.
Meanwhile, Donnelly said the Government will make “a comprehensive statement” on international travel next week and that details regarding it are “still being finalised”.
He stated he believes the plans will be “well received”.
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