Ireland await green light for France clash as Government works out detail of quarantine exemption for sport

Ireland's Beibhinn Parsons celebrates after scoring a try during the Women's Six Nations win over at Cardiff Arms Park last Saturday. Photo: Ben Evans/Sportsfile

Ruaidhri O'Connor Twitter

April 13 2021 07:55 PM

Ireland’s Women’s Six Nations clash with France has yet to be given quarantine clearance as government departments continue to try and come up with a viable way of accommodating elite sportspeople within the Mandatory Hotel Quarantine regulations.

While officials are still optimistic that a solution will be found that will allow the French team to come to Ireland and play the match, the finer detail of a scheme that would permit Irish sportspeople to compete in designated states like France, Italy and South Africa is still being worked out.

It appears that under the proposed exemption, teams returning from competitions or matches played in countries from which mandatory hotel quarantine is in place will have to set up in a hotel bubble for a minimum of 10 days, but will be allowed to train and play.

Each returning team will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, with the relevant governing body submitting a request for an exemption.

It means Leinster would be allowed to travel to La Rochelle, but would not be allowed return to their homes when they arrive back to Ireland.

Instead, they would have to stay together in a hotel in a manner similar to the way Ireland manage their bubble during the Six Nations.

Government officials are trying to work out ways to allow aspiring Olympians and Paralympians compete in vital qualifiers and other sporting fixtures continue, while also keeping to the spirit of the Mandatory Quarantine scheme.

“The final details are still being worked on but what we are seeking to put in place is an equivalent system to mandatory hotel quarantine for the purposes of allowing for our high-performance athletes to continue to train and participate in international events,” Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs and Sport Jack Chambers said.

“This is crucial for athletes who are trying to qualify for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the coming period for example.

“It is crucial we have an equivalent system that is of the same public health standard as the standard hotel quarantine regime but enables athletes and teams to continue to train and participate in sporting activity only.

“Athletes would be otherwise isolated, they could not go anywhere else or meet a family member for example. It is just to allow for their sporting activity.

“Working within the regulations that the Minister for Health is bringing in, if the travel is essential, the relevant governing body will have to submit a request to Sport Ireland who will work with the HSE.

“Their approval will be based on satisfactory quarantine arrangements that meet the standard being agreed upon arrival in Ireland.

“There will be very strict and clear protocols in place with an approval process that is underpinned by public health.

“Many of our Olympians and Paralympians who are trying to qualify for the games later in the summer still have to qualify. There’s an event for example for Paralympic classification in Italy mid-April.

“If an athlete is due to participate in that, on their return they have a requirement to continue their training so they can prepare for the Games themselves so what we’ll be putting in place is a very clear system underpinned by public health which is a comparative system to mandatory quarantine.

“The only exception is that they’re allowed to continue to train.

“But the same principles apply. They won’t be allowed to interact with the broader public or won’t be able to go to the shop for example. So we’re putting in place a very robust system that allows them to continue their specific sporting activity but that we’re still upholding public health.

"Sport Ireland are engaging with hotel providers, for example, so that we do uphold that public health rationale and that principle.

"There may be governing bodies that present a plan that doesn't meet that equivalence, and if they don't then they won't be given the certification to continue that activity.

"There'll be absolute oversight of that, just to be clear our athletes will only be enabled to continue their specific training activity, there has to be absolute adherence to that and any breach will be taken very seriously."

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