S.I. No. 330/2021 - Health Act 1947 (Section 31A – Temporary Requirements) (Covid-19 Passenger Locator Form) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2021

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 9th July, 2021.

I, STEPHEN DONNELLY, Minister for Health, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 5 and 31A (inserted by section 10 of the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020 (No. 1 of 2020)) of the Health Act 1947 (No. 28 of 1947) and -

(a) having regard to the immediate, exceptional and manifest risk posed to human life and public health by the spread of Covid-19 and to the matters specified in subsection (2) of section 31A, and

(b) having consulted with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Justice and the Minister for Transport,

hereby make the following regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Health Act 1947 (Section 31A – Temporary Requirements) (Covid-19 Passenger Locator Form) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2021.

2. In these Regulations, “Principal Regulations” means the Health Act 1947 (Section 31A – Temporary Requirements) (Covid-19 Passenger Locator Form) Regulations 2021 ( S.I. No. 45 of 2021 ).

3. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 12th day of July 2021.

4. Regulation 2 of the Principal Regulations is amended by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “Covid-19 Passenger Locator Form”:

“ ‘Covid-19 Passenger Locator Form’ means the form set out in the Schedule or a form to like effect, made available electronically by the Health Service Executive, that may only be completed electronically;”.

5. Regulation 4 of the Principal Regulations is amended –

(a) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (1):

“(1) An international passenger shall -

(a) in the case of arrival in the State at a port or airport -

(i) not travel to the State without having -

(I) completed a Covid-19 Passenger Locator Form electronically in respect of himself or herself, and

(II) subject to paragraph (2), confirmed on that form the number of children (if any) in relation to whom the international passenger is a responsible adult, and

(ii) on arrival in the State at the port or airport, present himself or herself to a relevant person and make the PLF receipt relating to himself or herself available to the relevant person, and

(b) in the case of arrival in the State other than at a port or airport -

(i) before his or her arrival -

(I) complete a Covid-19 Passenger Locator Form electronically in respect of himself or herself, and

(II) subject to paragraph (2), confirm on that form the number of children (if any) in relation to whom the international passenger is a responsible adult,

(ii) retain the PLF receipt relating to himself or herself for a period of 14 days after so arriving, and

(iii) make the PLF receipt available to a member of the Garda Síochána when requested to do so by such member.”, and

(b) in paragraph (2) -

(i) by the substitution of “(1)(a)(i)(II)” for “(1)(a)(ii)”, and

(ii) by the substitution of “(1)(b)(i)(II)” for “(1)(c)(i)(II)”.

6. The Principal Regulations are amended by the substitution of the following Regulation for Regulation 5:

“Obligations on travel organisers

5. (1) A travel organiser, in relation to a person whose arrival in the State it organises, effects or facilitates, shall -

(a) take reasonable steps to inform the person, where he or she is an international passenger, of his or her obligations under these Regulations,

(b) take reasonable steps to check whether or not the person, where he or she is an international passenger, has a PLF receipt relating to himself or herself, and

(c) subject to subsection (2), refuse to organise, effect or facilitate the travel of the person to the State where the person has not, to the satisfaction of the travel organiser, demonstrated that he or she has a PLF receipt relating to himself or herself.

(2) Paragraph (1)(c) shall not apply in relation to a person whose arrival in the State is organised, effected or facilitated by a travel organiser where the person declares to the travel organiser, or an officer, employee or agent of the travel organiser, that he or she is not an international passenger.

(3) In this Regulation, “travel organiser” means a person who -

(a) by providing a person with access to or use of a vehicle, organises, effects or facilitates the arrival of the person in the State, and

(b) is -

(i) a body corporate, or

(ii) in relation to a person who organises, effects or facilitates the arrival of the person in the State by providing access to or use of a vehicle on a private and exclusive basis, the owner of such vehicle.”.

7. Regulation 6 of the Principal Regulations is amended by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (1):

“(1) Where a relevant person or a member of the Garda Síochána considers it necessary to do so, he or she may request an international passenger to provide such information or documentation as may be required in order to verify any particular stated on a Covid-19 Passenger Locator Form completed by that international passenger or on a PLF receipt provided by that international passenger.”.

8. Regulation 8 of the Principal Regulations is amended, in paragraph (1)(b), by the substitution of “( S.I. No. 135 of 2021 )” for “(S.I. No. SI 135 of 2021 of 2021)”.

9. The Principal Regulations are amended by the insertion of the following Regulation after Regulation 8:

“Sharing of personal data

8A. (1) Subject to this Regulation, the Minister may, solely for the purpose specified in paragraph (3), share relevant personal data with the body known in Northern Ireland as the Public Health Agency (in this Regulation referred to as the ‘Agency’) in accordance with an agreement in writing between the Minister and the Agency specifying the terms and conditions applicable to such sharing.

(2) An agreement referred to in paragraph (1) shall -

(a) designate the Agency as an independent data controller in relation to the processing of relevant personal data shared by the Minister in accordance with the agreement, and

(b) include such terms and conditions as are necessary to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to minimise the effects of the sharing of the relevant personal data on the rights of the data subjects concerned.

(3) The purpose referred to in paragraph (1) is to assist the Agency in limiting the spread of Covid-19 in Northern Ireland by enabling the Agency to -

(a) provide public health information to relevant international passengers, and

(b) identify, trace and contact relevant international passengers who have been in contact with persons who have been diagnosed, or are suspected of having been infected, with Covid-19.

(4) In this Regulation -

‘relevant personal data’ means personal data provided on a Covid-19 Passenger Locator Form by a relevant international passenger;

‘relevant international passenger’ means an international passenger whose place of residence as specified on the Covid-19 Passenger Locator form is in Northern Ireland.”.

10. The Principal Regulations are amended by the substitution of the Schedule to these Regulations for the Schedule to those Regulations.

SCHEDULE

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

5 July, 2021.

STEPHEN DONNELLY,

Minister for Health.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations, made under section 31A of the Health Act 1947 (inserted by section 10 of the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020 , amend S.I. No. 45 of 2021 - Health Act 1947 (Section 31A – Temporary Requirements) (Covid-19 Passenger Locator Form) Regulations 2020.

These Regulations provide for a requirement that international passengers travelling to the State (including via Northern Ireland) from overseas complete the COVID-19 Passenger Locator Form (PLF) electronically and prior to their arrival in the State. The Regulations also provide for the sharing of passenger data with the Northern Ireland Public Health Agency.