Health

Covid-19 mandatory hotel quarantine: who is in charge of policing it?

Gardaí have powers to enforce quarantine but are not at hotels to stop people leaving

A member of the Defence Forces directs passengers arriving at Dublin Airport to a mandatory 12-day hotel quarantine. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

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Simon Carswell
Mon Mar 29 2021 - 01:06

The State’s Covid-19 mandatory hotel quarantine came into effect last Friday but already people have failed to adhere to the rules and there is confusion around their enforcement.

This came to light when three people absconded from one of the designed quarantine hotels, the Crowne Plaza near Dublin Airport, over the weekend.

Who is in charge of the mandatory hotel quarantine system?

The Department of Health is the lead agency in charge of the mandatory quarantine system because it falls under health legislation – namely the Health Act 1947 as amended by the Health (Amendment) Act 2021 – but the department does not run the quarantine hotels.

So who operates it?

Privately owned hotel group Tifco provides the hotels and, so far, the Crowne Plaza at Dublin Airport is being used but there are three other designated quarantine hotels: the Holiday Inn Express at Dublin Airport, Clontarf Castle Hotel and the Hard Rock Hotel in Dublin city centre. Tifco transports people from ports and airports in a process overseen by the Defence Forces.

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But who is responsible for keeping people in their hotels once under quarantine?

A private security contractor working for the hotel helps manage the quarantine. The Defence Forces provides an oversight and coordinating role as the State Liaison Officer at the hotels should issues arise and either gardaí or the Department of Health have to be called. However, neither the Defence Forces nor private security guards have legal powers to stop people leaving the hotels.

So they can’t stop people leaving quarantine and have to call someone else if they do?

Yes. It is a criminal offence to leave a designated quarantine facility and those who do so can be fined up to €2,000 or face imprisonment of up to one month, but it is the responsibility of the Garda to investigate any suspected offences and enforce the laws behind the quarantine.

If they have enforcement powers here, why are Gardaí not at the quarantine facility then?

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has said that it would not be appropriate for gardaí to maintain a permanent presence at quarantine hotels because the people in mandatory quarantine “have committed no crime” but that the Garda would be called if the need arose.

How does it work other countries?

Police take a more active role elsewhere. In Australia, police manage hotels for asymptomatic inbound travellers, while in hotels for people with Covid-19 or at risk of it or people with complex health needs, police and security staff monitor the perimeter of facilities to protect staff, patients and the community in the event that patients try to leave quarantine.

In New Zealand last year police started patrolling the country's quarantine hotels around the clock after a number of people, including a Covid-positive man, escaped managed facilities.

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