Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan has said there will be no difference in dates for when international travel will resume for Europe and for the US and UK.

International travel is expected to return on July 19, although ministers are yet to sign off on this date this afternoon.

Minister Ryan confirmed to Independent.ie at Dublin Castle there will not be a phased approach between travel to Europe and the US or the UK.

While the EU Digital Green Cert does not apply to the US or the UK, he said that there will be a “similar broad approach” taken.

This will mean that passengers will have to prove that they have been vaccinated, have tested negative or have immunity to the virus if they want to travel to those countries.

Cabinet Ministers have this afternoon signed off on the next phase of the easing of restrictions.

Ministers agreed to implement advice from last night’s sub-committee on Covid-19 and Nphet, which will see the return of indoor dining in pubs, restaurants and cafes from July 5.

Hotels will reopen from June 2 and international travel will return on July 19, which will include the implementation of the EU Digital Green Cert.

The first pilot sports events, allowing for the return of crowds at matches for the first time in over a year, will include a Leinster rugby match and two League of Ireland fixtures in two weeks’ time.

It comes as the EU Commission said it is in discussions with Irish authorities about lifting its quarantine measures for travellers arriving from EU countries.

Didier Reynders, EU Commissioner for Justice, said the Commission is "closely monitoring" Ireland's quarantine rules.

Last month, the Commission wrote a letter to the Government asking it to set out the criteria used to determine which countries go on the quarantine list.

A commission spokesperson said it had concerns about the system's "proportionality and non-discrimination".

The State's quarantine system includes Belgium and France. Other EU countries, including Italy, have been removed from the list.

Mr Reynders tweeted on Friday: "Regarding hotel quarantine rules in (Ireland), the commission is closely monitoring the situation.

"We requested and received information on the criteria on which such measures are based.

"We are now in discussions with authorities to see how the lifting of measures can be facilitated."

On Thursday, the Dail debated extending the mandatory hotel quarantine system.

Minister for health, Stephen Donnelly, is seeking to extend the system, which is due to expire on June 8, until the end of July.

Mandatory hotel quarantine has been operational since March 26.

Mr Donnelly said that the number of variants of Covid-19 has fallen since then.

He told the Dail that the system is working, adding that Ireland has the most restrictive quarantine system.

As of May 25, a total of 4,400 people have entered mandatory hotel quarantine.

Of these, there have been 173 Covid-19 detected cases, including 163 residents, nine staff and one unaccompanied minor.

Of these cases, 59 variants of concern were detected.

Mr Donnelly said it included 47 cases of the UK variant and 12 cases of the South Africa variant.

A vote on whether to extend mandatory hotel quarantine is to take place next Wednesday.

Speaking on his way into the Cabinet meeting, Minister Donnelly said the country is at “pre-herd immunity” as by the end of this week, 50pc of the adult population will have been offered at least one vaccine dose.

He said the speed of reopening is quicker than what the public may have anticipated.

“We are opening at a phase that is beyond lost people’s expectations,” he said.

He said in other parts of the world like Israel and New York, there is a “population bonus” that happens after 50pc the adult population has been vaccinated - he called this “pre-herd immunity”.

“There seems to be a systems dynamic where the benefit moves from just the individual to population based,” he said.

Minister Donnelly said that there is an uptake of 97pc and 98pc in older age cohorts.

The Irish Travel Agents Association welcomed the announcement on international travel and encouraged holidaymakers to book their holidays with ITAA-registered agents.

Chief executive Pat Dawson said: “Our member travel agents are looking forward to reopening after what has been a very challenging year for the industry.

"We welcome the news that international travel will reopen at the end of next month after a long period of uncertainty. In order to ensure a successful restart for our industry, we are asking Government to calling on Government to provide the necessary business supports to avoid another blow to our industry after such a difficult year.

"There is a 6 to 9 month delay between booking and travel which means that our sector must work for 6 to 9 months before we actually count the income generated from advance bookings.”