Ireland’s Green List: what we know so far

By Erin Lindsay
20th Jul 2020

Ireland’s Green List: what we know so far

Official publication of the Green List was delayed today, leaving expectant travelers wondering when they can make a trip abroad

The Government’s publication of a Green List of countries that are safe for people to travel to has been delayed, after the Cabinet’s meeting today was deferred.

Cabinet has to officially sign off on the list, but as Taoiseach Micheál Martin is still in Brussels attending an EU Summit, the list will not be announced until his return.

This leaves thousands of potential travellers across the country still in doubt about their 2020 trips. So what do we know so far?

Ireland’s rate of Covid-19

As of this morning (July 20), Ireland has recorded 25,760 confirmed cases of Covid-19. 1,753 people have lost their lives to the disease.

In recent weeks, rates of new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland have increased, and the Government has modified the country’s roadmap to reopening as a result, extending some lockdown measures.

Last week, the Department of Health confirmed that the R-rate of the virus, which is the reproductive rate that measures the number of infections a new case causes, had risen to between 1.2 and 1.8. A measure above 1 indicates that infections are on the rise.

Ireland’s rate of Covid-19 cases per 100,000 currently stands at 4.9.

What does the Green List mean for travellers?

The so-called Green List is a list of countries that Irish travellers can visit without having to self-isolate upon their return.

Under the current restrictions, anyone entering Ireland from a foreign country must self-isolate for 14 days after their arrival. The Green List will allow those entering from certain countries to waive this restriction.

If a visitor enters from a country not on the list, they will still have to self-isolate for two weeks.

Countries likely to be on the list

The Green List will be compiled based on data from the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. Countries are ranked based on their Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people within the last two weeks.

According to the Centre’s data published on Sunday, Ireland’s rate currently stands at 4.9.

This means that any country with a rate lower than Ireland’s number will be likely to be included on the Green List, and any country with a higher rate will not.

Countries that are likely to feature on the Green List as a result include: