Northern Ireland

Michelle O'Neill: 'There needs to be an all-Ireland travel ban'

Sinn Féin Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill speaks to the media in Coalisland, County Tyrone. Picture by Sinn Fein/PA Wire
Sinn Féin Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill speaks to the media in Coalisland, County Tyrone. Picture by Sinn Fein/PA Wire Sinn Féin Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill speaks to the media in Coalisland, County Tyrone. Picture by Sinn Fein/PA Wire

AN island-wide travel shutout should be introduced to help stem the spread of the new Covid variant, Sinn Féin has said.

Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill called on Taoiseach Micheál Martin to pursue a joined-up travel policy with the Stormont executive to prevent travel between Britain and Ireland.

Ms O'Neill insisted her stance was not politically motivated, saying her party also favoured a ban on all non-essential journeys within the island of Ireland, including cross-border trips.

At an emergency executive meeting on Monday night, a Sinn Féin proposal to introduce a travel ban from Britain was voted down.

Ministers instead issued guidance advising against non-essential travel between Northern Ireland and both Britain and the Republic.

People arriving in Northern Ireland have also been urged to self-isolate for 10 days.

Ms O'Neill insisted that guidance did not apply to cross-border workers.

The Irish Government yesterday extended a restriction on travel between Britain and the Republic. Commercial flights will be banned until December 31, with ferry routes limited to freight and essential passengers.

Speaking in Coalisland, Co Tyrone, Ms O'Neill expressed regret that ministers had not supported her party's proposal.

"We needed to have urgent and immediate action, Sinn Féin proposed that there'd be an outright travel ban from Britain at the executive meeting last night and that didn't enjoy the support of the executive," she said.

"I think that's very unfortunate, very disappointing, particularly given the threat that is now posed because of this new strain, this new virus."

Ms O'Neill said Northern Ireland was an "outlier", given steps to ban travel in other European countries.

"Here we are on the island of Ireland, where one part of the island is shutdown to travel and then another part is not," she said.

"And I just think that's not a good position for us to be in, we're in a very dangerous position."

Her comments came as the European Commission said travel from the UK should be "discouraged" but bans on movement lifted.

The commission recommended a joint approach from EU members after individual countries including France imposed emergency restrictions.

A further 16 Covid deaths were reported in Northern Ireland yesterday and an additional 439 cases of the virus.

In the Republic, there were 13 more deaths announced and 970 new infections, a significant increase on recent weeks.

Ms O'Neill said there needs to be an "all-Ireland travel ban".

"That's the best way we can respond to this crisis. That should have been the approach from the outset," she said.

"So I would encourage the taoiseach to work with us, I would encourage the taoiseach to try to get to the point where the whole of the island is shut down to any inbound travellers in order to allow us to try to have the best chance to fight back against this new variant, which, as we know, spreads faster than the current form, we know spreads perhaps four times faster.

She added: "This is not a political point. This is very much a practical point. This is about saving lives, this is about doing the right thing. This is about protecting the health service. This is far too serious for any kind of politicking in the middle of it."

Ms O'Neill rejected the argument that bans were not appropriate given the likelihood of the variant already being in the island.

"That's like saying when the taps running, let it keep running, let it overflow, let it flood the bathroom," she said.

Asked if she would support a ban on cross-border travel, Ms O'Neill replied: "When it comes to north/south travel, my message to everybody is very, very clear - no-one should travel unless it's essential. No one should make any non-essential journeys.

"Conor Murphy (Sinn Fein minister) actually in the executive meeting last night actually proposed that there should be a ban on any non-essential travel north/south, east/west, it should apply across the board."

Monday night's meeting was convened at short notice after health minister Robin Swann circulated a paper responding to the emergence of the Covid-19 variant in Britain which recommended issuing guidance against all but essential travel rather than an immediate ban.

It is understood the DUP, UUP and Alliance opposed the Sinn Féin proposal for an outright ban, while the SDLP supported it.

Mr Swann yesterday explained his rationale, highlighting the impact on supply chains and warning that medical stocks could have been endangered.

He also expressed concern that Northern Ireland was turned into a "funnel" for people travelling to the Republic from Britain after the Irish government imposed a flight ban.

The UUP minister said the Irish government did not give the Stormont executive advance notice of the prohibition.

"If there had been more co-ordination and conversations it could have made a difference," he said.

Mr Swann also told members that as of Monday, about 20,000 people had received their first Covid-19 vaccine jab in Northern Ireland.

He said 309 care homes - almost two thirds of the total - had been vaccinated, including 7,311 residents and 8,600 staff.