Covid-19 travel: 'Interest' in NI eligibility for EU Covid certificates

Ireland is "keeping an interest" in possibly making Irish passport holders who live in Northern Ireland eligible for a new EU Covid certificate.

Thomas Byrne, the Republic's minister of state for European affairs, said he had spoken to the country's ambassador in Brussels about the issue.

It comes after a provisional agreement within the EU on the certificate, which is aimed at allowing free movement.

The change is expected to help open up summer travel within the bloc.

Mr Byrne said details of the certificate were yet to be worked out.

"In principle this would be for European citizens, with European vaccinations certificates, within the European union," he told Irish broadcaster RTÉ.

"There is scope for member states to recognise vaccinations that have been taken elsewhere."

He said the issue was of "considerable interest to a huge number of people on this island, and indeed in Britain".

In a statement to BBC News NI, a spokesperson for the European Parliament said EU member states would be issuing Covid certificates to their own residents.

"The UK is going to be covered under the scheme for third countries, which was agreed in principle by the Council of the European Union this week, although this has not yet been fully approved," said the spokesperson.

"The Irish authorities will be responsible for issuing certificates to Irish residents under this scheme."

Under the new scheme, Covid-19 certificates will be issued to say if a person has been vaccinated against Covid-19, if they have had a recent negative PCR test result or if they have recovered from infection.

Each EU state will be able to issue a certificate that will be accepted throughout the bloc.

The documents, which will be available in paper or digital format, will not be a precondition for free travel and will not be considered a travel document.

Its purpose is to allow travellers to bypass restrictions such as quarantine.

Plans for the certificates have been in the works for a number of months.

Funding of €100 million (£86 million) is set to be be made available for additional PCR tests.

The agreement means countries should not impose additional travel restrictions "unless they are necessary and proportionate to safeguard public health".

Plans for the certificates will go before plenary session of the European Parliament next month for approval.

Since the start of this week, the NHS app in England has been available to use as a vaccine passport for those who have had both doses of the jab.

The NHS app is separate to the NHS Covid-19 app, which is used for contact tracing.

However, the app cannot be used by people in Northern Ireland, as it is not compatible with Northern Ireland's Health and Social Care systems.

"Work is currently ongoing across the devolved administrations in regards to vaccine and testing certification, in order to support international travel when restrictions are eased," said a spokesman for Northern Ireland's Department of Health.