Irish tourists could look forward to a holiday abroad in the coming months as plans emerge for a return to foreign travel.
The EU commission has been proposing plans for a return of non-essential travel within the union as the vaccine rollout ramps up across Europe.
And Ireland is set to take part in the discussions this week that could pave the way for the return to foreign holidays very soon.
Non-essential travel abroad has been off the cards in Ireland for well over a year as countries across the globe wrestle with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Currently the Irish government is still advising against all non-essential travel abroad.
There was no mention of the return of holidays during the Taoiseach's announcement last week where he confirmed the easing of a raft of Covid-19 restrictions.
However that could soon change as the EU examines a way for people to travel within Europe again.
The prospect of a passport system has been suggested before.
The EU commission has said it will examine allowing travel on the basis of the epidemiological situation of different countries, as well as allowing vaccinated individuals to travel.
A statement from the Commission read: "The (European) Commission proposes to allow entry to the EU for non-essential reasons not only for all persons coming from countries with a good epidemiological situation but also all people who have received the last recommended dose of an EU-authorised vaccine."
"This could be extended to vaccines having completed the WHO emergency use listing process. In addition, the Commission proposes to raise... the threshold related to the number of new Covid-19 cases used to determine a list of countries from which all travel should be permitted".
