There have been further calls for clarification about self-isolation for people arriving into Ireland from overseas in relation to the possible spread of Covid-19.

An associate professor of economics at the University of Limerick has said that more clarity is needed for people working in tourism and hospitality faced with doing business with tourists who may not have self-isolated after arriving here.
Stephen Kinsella told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland there is a “real asymmetry” between how international travellers are being treated and how individual business owners are responding.
He said by making quarantine for incoming travellers “advisory” rather than “mandatory” it places “the moral hazard” at the door of those working in tourism and other businesses.
He said “a lot of this comes down to placing resonsibility at individual, personal or business level, which is probably incorrect at the moment”.
Mr Kinsella said studies show that Ireland’s lockdown measures are stringent, but not as stringent in relation to travel.
He said evidence is showing that international travel controls, public transport closures and restrictions on movement are not as effective if they are not enforced.
He said that 2% of cases of the virus in Ireland have come from travel, while the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development say 8% to 9% of global cases arise from travel. 
Mr Kinsella said that over 10,000 people came here last month from abroad and there has not been a spike in infections, but there has been an increase in the ‘R’ number.
The reproductive rate, or ‘R number’, indicates the number of people on average that an infected person will pass the virus on to.
Last week the National Public Health Emergency Team said there is an “immediate need to take care and caution”, as the reproductive rate of Covid-19 in Ireland now stands at, or above, 1.
Mr Kinsella said the next period is what matters and the asymmetry between advising people not to travel but allow tourists in is a difficulty.
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It comes as Mary Kenny, an Irish journalist based in the UK, said messages about self-isolating for those travelling into Ireland from the UK are ‘not clear and vague’ as she considers whether to travel here to speak at a festival in Roscommon later this month.
Mary Kenny (pic: RollingNews.ie)
Ms Kenny said that after hearing Taoiseach Micheal Martin tell British tourists not to travel to Ireland at the weekend, she felt it was ‘draconian’ and would seek advice from the Irish Embassy.
She told Today with Sarah McInerney that she would like to know what the definition of “essential travel” is as she would be travelling for business, not as a tourist.
She said that ‘Cead Mile Failte is cancelled for now’ and that it is a melancholy situation when you can’t go back to your native country.
Ms Kenny said that she would not like to break the law but it had ‘never occurred’ to her before there would be any restrictions as she can freely travel to Northern Ireland.
Ms Kenny said after she asked on social media if she needs to quarantine upon arrival here she ‘got a lot of very angry scolding’ from Irish people.
She said she had felt that the restrictions would not apply to her as she is an Irish citizen and with the Common Travel Area between Ireland and the UK she felt travel was not limited.
She said that mandatory quarantine is disproportionate as fatalities are falling all the time and with precautions and facemasks ‘it can be contained’.
Ms Kenny said that Covid-19 virus is ‘not the Black death’ and is ‘an unpleassant flu-like illness’ and we need to be proportionate about the risks.
She said she felt the Percy French Festival should go ahead on July 22 with precautions being taken.
The Percy French Festival has since said that Ms Kenny will not participate in the event in person.
In a statement the festival said: “In response to the announcement by the Taoiseach that travellers from Britain should not for the time being come to Ireland, the Percy French Festival and Mary Kenny have agree that her participation in next week’s events cannot now occur.
“We greatly regret this, but acknowledge that it is the duty of us all to put the health and safety of the people of Ireland first.”
Yesterday Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the Government remains “cautious” on international travel, as its priority is on opening up parts of society safely.
Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show, Mr Martin said there is still a lot of volatility relating to Covid-19.
He said the Cabinet will be discussing measures this week that may be needed, such as strengthening measures at airports, ahead of issuing a possible ‘green list’ of countries.
Mr Martin said it is too early for holidaymakers to return to Ireland without having to quarantine on arrival.
When asked if Britain can get on Ireland’s green list, he responded that “suppression of the virus is key”.
He said the Government has watched reports of where parts of UK have had to go back into lockdown, saying so many countries are facing such challenges and that is why “we are saying not to travel for non-essential purposes”.
The focus for the Government here is about opening up society safely, he added.
“Our priority is to get schools open and free up hospitals to deal with non-Covid and get more activity. I think caution is the watch word here and that will be our approach.”
He said the Government is developing a methodology similar to the EU and it is taking into account the level of the virus in other countries.
“That will be the metric in advising Irish citizens travelling abroad.”
He said the Government is concerned by a possible second wave of the virus given what is happening globally.
He added: “On July 20 we will announce our measures in relation to international travel and essentially we have developed a methodology somewhat similar to the European Union and its relation with third countries; essentially, the methodology will be in relation to the level of the disease in particular countries, including the UK, countries that are at Ireland’s level or below.
“In terms of people coming in to Ireland, the advisory and the quarantining still remains and it’s under constant review. Why? Because there’s a lot of international volatility with this virus, we’ve seen a spike in numbers. We’re very concerned about that.”
Professor of Experimental Immunology at Trinity College Dublin Kingston Mills has said that the travel advice from the Government is clear “that all travel should be only essential”.
Speaking on Today with Sarah McInerney, Prof Mills said anyone who is suggesting they are unclear on the advice is ignoring the Government’s guidance.
He said the Government needs to find a way to make the 14-day self-isolation requirement enforceable.
Until then “it is not part of the law, and that is part of the problem”, he said.
In response to comments by Ms Kenny, Prof Mills said it was “disappointing” to see a high-profile person “making these sorts of comments and describing Covid-19 as an unpleasant flu-like illness”.
“She needs to see the RTÉ programme from St James’s Hospital to see the reality of this virus”, he said.
Yesterday, the Department of Health said there were no further deaths of people who had previously been diagnosed with Covid-19. The overall death toll is 1,746.
The department also said there was an additional 17 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, bringing the overall total number of cases here to 25,628.
The World Health Organization says data to date suggests 80% of Covid-19 infections are mild or asymptomatic, 15% are severe infection, requiring oxygen and 5% are critical, requiring ventilation.
Generally, you need to be 15 minutes or more in the vicinity of an infected person and within two metres of them, to be considered at-risk, or a close contact.