People arriving from 'red zone' countries can move freely within Ireland if they obtain a negative COVID test.
Any passenger who receives a negative PCR COVID-19 test five days after they arrive in Ireland will no longer have to restrict their movements, according to Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne.
Minister Byrne said the rules will change for those travelling to Ireland from a 'red' region after 29 November, but warned it was "not an open door for travel".
On Monday, Ireland adopted the new system which allows for countries and specific regions within those countries, to be categorised as green, orange or red depending on the COVID-19 risk levels they're associated with.
The risk levels will be assessed by The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control who will publish a three-stage colour system map every week to indicate the level of risk in each area of the EU.
These levels will be determined by a range of factors including the 14-day incidence per 100,000 population, the number of tests being carried out and the positivity rate.
At present, the majority of Europe is in the red category with only Norway, Finland, and parts of Greece in the orange zone. Greenland is the only country on the green zone.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Minister Byrne said travel is still not advised and the rule change was not a mechanism to open doors, but to allow safe travel where possible.
"We're not encouraging travel, we're not encouraging people to come into the country unless they have to.
"The rule will still be there restricting their movements for 14 days but if after a minimum of five days they get a negative PCR test from a private service provider, they will then be able to discontinue restricting their movements," he said.
The TD for Meath East said he does not know how much this testing will cost, but it is estimated that the private sector will charge between €150 and €200 for the test. Minister Byrne state that HSE resources will not be used for these tests and that travellers will have to pick up the cost themselves.
Later on in the interview, the Minister of State for European Affairs was asked if the private sector has enough capacity to conduct these tests over the Christmas period with people looking to return home.
Minister Byrne said he can't promise there's the capacity to test all those planning to return home for Christmas but reiterated that travel should only be done for essential circumstances.
Elsewhere, privately operated COVID-19 testing centres are opening in Cork and Shannon airports from today.
David Rock, Chief Executive of RocDoc which is running the two centres, has said tests will cost between €129 and €149.
Speaking to RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Rock said it will be a 72-hour turnaround time and will be useful for those who might need to travel or want to visit someone vulnerable and require having a test done beforehand.
