Make EU Digital Green Certificate available to all in North

The EU Digital Green Certificate (DCC) should be made available to all people on the island of Ireland by the Government, Fine Gael Senator Emer Currie has said.

Senator Currie, Fine Gael Seanad spokesperson for Northern Ireland, said she has “had contact with people who got their vaccine in the North but work or live in the South and want to know if they can avail of the Green Certificate.”

“There needs to be clarity around this. People live and work across the island without any boundaries and that should be reflected in the Cert. The purpose of the Digital Green Certificate is to facilitate the safe movement of citizens within the European Union (EU) during the pandemic.

“It is valid in all EU member states for people who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, those who have recovered from Covid 19 in the last nine months and if they have had a negative PCR test within 72 hours of arrival.

“This is another situation where the Irish Government could secure special measures to support an all-island approach.

“We’ve done it with Erasmus Plus where third level students from colleges in Northern Ireland will still be able to study in Europe. We have also done it with the European Health Insurance Card, which provides access to emergency healthcare in all EU member states. Both of these scenarios relate to travel within the EU and under the Digital Green Certificate too, the same opportunities to travel should be afforded to people, North or South.

“This is an opportunity to once again be practical about North South co-operation. Everyone can and should benefit from this and I hope we can make it happen,” Senator Currie said.