Now that most COVID-19 public health restrictions in Ireland have been eased, the country’s tourist board says it will be “pulling out all the stops” to facilitate travel to the country in the coming months.

Effective Saturday (Jan. 21), restaurants and bars were permitted by the Irish government to resume normal trading hours; and restrictions on indoor and outdoor events, including sporting fixtures, were lifted.

“The announcement that most COVID-19 restrictions in Ireland (have) come to an end is excellent news for tourism and hospitality,” said Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland. “It means that we can now move forward and begin planning holidays in Ireland with confidence for the year ahead… We can now look to the future with optimism.”

He added, “Tourism Ireland’s priority for 2022 is to restart overseas tourism to the island of Ireland. We will be pulling out all the stops to set Ireland apart from our competitor destinations, to drive bookings and revenues for tourism businesses. Together with our industry partners, we will undertake our most extensive marketing campaign ever in 2022. Our message – and that of the entire Irish tourism industry – is very simple: we cannot wait to roll out the green carpet and welcome back visitors from around the world.”

Travel to Ireland

According to the government of Ireland web site, the following travel protocols are in effect for travel to Ireland:

• Overseas passengers must fill out a passenger locator form (available online) before departure.

• Passengers to Ireland do not have to show an additional pre-departure COVID-19 test result if they have an accepted proof of vaccination or proof of recovery from COVID-19 in the prior 6 months

• From Feb. 1, 2022, vaccine certificates for primary vaccination series will not be accepted for travel if more than 270 days have passed since the final dose in the primary vaccine series. Vaccine certificates based on booster/additional doses are not time limited.

• Passengers without proof of vaccination, or proof of recovery from COVID-19 in the prior 6 months, must show evidence of a negative (‘not detected’) PCR test result taken within 72 hours prior to arriving in Ireland.

For full and updated protocols:  https://www.gov.ie/en/