Tony O’Brien: Our quarantine approach seems designed with failure in mind

The government needs to follow Britain’s example on border health measures, and to face down disgruntled EU states

Ireland’s MHQ debate has become fractious. There are those who claim that its implementation has a particularly negative and discriminatory impact

Traveller quarantine, particularly mandatory hotel quarantine (MHQ), has become an incredibly divisive issue inside the government, and now also with member states of the European Union.

Last week‘s protestations by Paolo Serpi, Italy’s ambassador to Ireland, that the system is discriminatory ring hollow. He has not put forward any evidence to support his contention that the policy discriminates against Italian citizens.

The requirement for MHQ when entering Ireland from Italy applies equally, irrespective of the ...