Parents who take their children abroad on holiday from July face a bill that could run to hundreds of euro for Covid-19 tests .

Under European Commission recommendations for the Digital Covid Cert, only children under six should be allowed enter or exit an EU country without a Covid-19 test.

The test can be either a PCR or antigen test, depending on the decision of the member state. A PCR test costs up to €185 and an antigen could be up to €89.

The Government here is proposing that any child aged seven to 18 will need a negative PCR test before travelling here and this will be the requirement before they come home from their trip abroad.

Other EU member states are also expected to require a test, although in France PCR and antigen tests are carried out for free.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Public Expenditure, which oversees the digital cert here, said it will be for each country to set its own requirements for entry.

“At present children aged seven to 18 will need a negative PCR test before travelling to Ireland,” she said.

“Further decisions by Government around PCR or antigen testing for children in the context of international travel will be based on public health advice.”

The digital cert will come into force on July 1 but will not be adopted here until July 19. The recommendations on the digital cert allow for people who are fully vaccinated or who have recently recovered from Covid-19 to bypass a test and quarantine. The European Commission has proposed a standard validity period for tests: 72 hours before travel for PCR tests and 48 hours for rapid antigen tests.

If there is a sudden deterioration in the Covid infection rates in the EU there is allowance for the use of an “emergency brake” on the lifting of restrictions.

It is proposed that anyone travelling from a “green” region of the EU, such as west Finland, where fewer than 25 cases per 100,000 people have been recorded during the previous 14 days, be entirely freed from restrictions.

Those who are not fully vaccinated coming from an “orange” area, with a 14-day cumulative Covid-19 case notification rate of 75, will need to take a pre-departure test.

Didier Reynders, EU commissioner for justice, said: “The last weeks have brought a continuous downward trend in infection numbers, showing the success of the vaccination campaigns across the EU. In parallel, we are also encouraging affordable and widely available testing possibilities. In this context, member states are now slowly lifting Covid-19 restrictions both domestically and regarding travel.

“Today, we are proposing that member states coordinate this gradual lifting of free movement restrictions, taking into account our new common tool: the EU Digital Covid certificate.

“We now expect member states to make best use of this instrument and the recommendation to allow everyone to move freely and safely again.”

Stella Kyriakides, EU commissioner for health and food safety, said freedom of movement is one of EU citizens’ most cherished rights and we need coordinated and predictable approaches that would offer clarity and avoid inconsistent requirements across member states.

She added: “We need to remain cautious and always put the protection of public health first.”