One third of follow-up calls made to passengers who arrived in the State and were required to self-isolate were not answered, according to figures obtained by RTÉ News from the Department of Justice.
Since 28 May it has been mandatory by law to fill in a Covid-19 Passenger Locator Form if you arrive in Ireland from another country. You are also asked to self-isolate for 14 days.
Nearly 30,000 (29,645) passengers arrived into Ireland from 28 May to 21 June through Dublin Airport, Dublin Port, Cork Airport and Rosslare Europort.
One third of the passengers - 9,596 - were exempt from a follow-up call as their final destination was Northern Ireland, they were in the State for less than two days, or they filled out the form unnecessarily.
The Department of Justice said that all passengers during this time frame were given a follow-up call.
However, RTÉ News has heard anecdotally of people who have not received a follow-up call after arriving and filling out a form.
19,866 forms were completed by people arriving into Dublin Airport from 28 May to 21 June. Over 5,000 people were exempt from a follow-up call, and 68% of the calls made were answered.
7,646 forms were filled out by people arriving into Dublin Port. 3,918 of these passengers were exempt from a follow-up call and, of the calls made, over half (53%) were unanswered.
1,350 forms were filled out by people arriving into Rosslare Port. 577 were exempt from a follow-up call and of the calls made to passengers, 51% were answered.
783 forms were filled out by people arriving into Cork Airport. 97 were exempt from a follow-up call and 55% of the calls made were unanswered.
For visitors to Ireland whose return flight leaves before the 14-day quarantine period elapses, the expectation is that they self-isolate for 14 days following their arrival in Ireland.
If they cannot do so, the Government says, they should reconsider the need to travel to Ireland at this time in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.
Self-isolation means avoiding all contact with other people and is more stringent than the measures applying to the wider public.
People are not required to complete a Covid-19 Passenger Locator Form if they are an essential supply chain worker (air and ship crew and hauliers) or an accredited diplomat.
Arrivals who are not required to self-isolate are those arriving in the State from Northern Ireland, aircraft crew including pilots, people in Ireland as part of their work duties, holders of a Certificate for International Transport Workers, and drivers of heavy goods vehicles who are in Ireland in the course of performing their duties.
Department of Justice figures show that 6,729 second follow-up calls were made 12 days after arrival from 28 May to 12 June for those who came through Dublin Airport. Just under half of these calls were answered.
No fines have been issued for non-compliance.
The penalties for not completing the form, providing false information, or failing to give an update on a change to a self-isolation location are a fine of up to €2,500, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or both.
The regulations around the Covid-19 Passenger Locator Form were introduced on 28 May and were due to expire on 18 June. But they have been extended until 9 July when they will be reviewed again.
