Brits hoping to travel to Ireland will have to quarantine for 14 days on arrival, reports claim - despite travel restrictions easing.
This is set to dash hopes of a weekend holiday in Dublin or staycations in Cork this summer, despite travel expected to be allowed to countries such as Greece and Spain imminently.
Government ministers have excluded Britain from its approved list of countries to set up travel with, despite fears it could affect diplomatic relationships, Independent.ie reports.
The paper claims that in a memo handed out in a Covid-19 sub-committee meeting, ministers were told it is “highly unlikely” that Britain will be included in a list of countries deemed safe for foreign travel.
This means anyone arriving from Britain will be required to isolate for 14 days upon arrival.
Currently, Ireland is excluded from Britain's quarantine rules for foreign travellers.
As he announced a move to Phase 3 from Monday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar confirmed that some travel restrictions between Ireland and other nations will be eased from July 9.
With travel noted to spread the virus, Ireland is yet to confirm which countries it will establish air bridges with.
But a list of destinations is set to be signed off soon, with people who fly in from low-risk countries able to dodge quarantine rules.
Varadkar said the list will be reviewed every two weeks and admitted that if it was announced today, Britain would not make the cut.
He continued: "If you're flying or going by boat between countries that are on the green list in Ireland, the 14-day guarantee will not apply."
He stressed that the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland will remain open as it has throughout the pandemic.
Britain has reportedly raised concerns over the restrictions travellers will face flying into Ireland.
The memo seen by the Independent reports:“Application of further restrictions by Ireland to travel from Britain will add to those concerns, and may be seen as a unilateral suspension of the Common Travel Area by us."
The move is due to Britain's poor coronavirus record compared to Ireland.
Ireland has recorded 1,727 deaths and currently has 329 active cases.
In the UK, 43,230 people have died and 264,750 are currently infected.
