Sinn Féin Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill has called for a legal ban on non-essential journeys across the island of Ireland.
Ms O’Neill said the measure should be accompanied by a ban on travel between the island and Britain.
It comes as a further 16 Covid-19 deaths were recorded in Northern Ireland, with an additional 439 cases of the virus confirmed in the last 24-hour reporting period.
Last night, Stormont ministers agreed to support health minister Robin Swann’s recommendation to issue guidance against non-essential travel between Northern Ireland and Britain, and Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. However, a proposal for a travel ban was defeated.
Mr Swann tweeted: “More work needed on option of legal travel ban, both legally and logistically – vital supplies to NI and essential travel need to be protected.”
Pleased that Exec has agreed my paper tonight, including immediate guidance against all but essential travel between NI and GB/RoI, with all new arrivals here asked to self-isolate for 10 days. 1/2
— Robin Swann MLA : #StopCovidNI (@RobinSwannMoH) December 22, 2020
On Tuesday, Ms O’Neill expressed regret that ministers had not supported her party’s proposal for a ban on travel from Britain at Monday night’s executive meeting.
She also called on Taoiseach Micheál Martin to work with the Stormont Executive on a joined-up approach to prohibiting non-essential journeys through the island.
“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.”
Dangerous
Ms O’Neill told media in Coalisland that the region 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 added.
“And I just think that’s not a good position for us to be in, we’re in a very dangerous position.”
Ms O’Neill added: “We need an all-Ireland approach, 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.
“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.
“I think that the enormity of that means that we need urgent immediate action on an all-Ireland basis. 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 on 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.”
