Take Me To The Plaza

at

The Crowne Plaze and Travelodge hotels at Dublin Airport this morning

This morning.

Dublin Airport.

The contract for the Mandatory Hotel Quarantine (MHQ) system is to be awarded to the Tifco Hotel Group, which owns 24 hotel properties including  the Crowne Plaza, and the Holiday Inn Express and Travelodge Hotels at Dublin airport.

The detention system will come into effect by the end of this week. There are 33 countries, mainly in Africa and South America, on the Government’s Category 2 list of “high risk” countries.

Good times.

Leon Farrell/RollingNews

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23 thoughts on “Take Me To The Plaza

  1. TypeONegative

    It’s incredible how long this took.
    New Zealand implemented this straight away and has enjoyed much milder lockdowns since. We do things bass ackwards.

    1. Morning George

      I think government thought if you ignore the pandemic for a while it’ll sort itself out.

      1. paul

        like most scandals the Government is involved in or where vulnerable people would benefit e.g. Cervical Check, Mother and Baby Homes etc.

    2. Murtles

      Probably had offered the contract to some of their Gold Circle hotel owner friends but then realised that everything is leaked from Government nowadays for the popularity struggle, so it wouldn’t be prudent.

    1. Micko

      Do the travellers pay for the quarantine themselves? I presume they do – anyone know the cost?

      1. Broadbag

        Travelers pay 2k each for the privilege (full board), it will be cost neutral to the State I heard on the radio – famous last words, somehow they’ll find a way to F this up and cost us millions.

        1. Micko

          Wow!

          2 grand each! So we’re effectively saying that anyone who comes from those countries has to be well off? Or reeeeeeeaaaaaly want to come here.

          Interesting…

    2. JEH

      Jesus christ.

      Perfect time for Jason Byrne to chime in with his “Irish government gobshites”.

      These clowns couldn’t manage a cat’s birthday party or even a ham sandwich.

  2. Andrew

    They really don’t want to do this for some reason. Dragged their feet and seem very reluctant about it. Glacially slow in the face of a pandemic.
    Can anyone answer, are there direct flights from Brazil to Ireland or do most people get connecting flights elsewhere?

    1. dav

      Google is telling me that there are No direct Flights. Most have 1 or 2 stops. and from what I could see- via USA.

    2. JEH

      I’m not sure where to find that, but when AF447 crashed into the Atlantic a few years back it was a direct flight from Brazil to Paris and I remember they had to do some navigation wizardry with the way-points because the auto-pilot would give out saying there wasn’t enough fuel for the route. That route appears to be a stretch so I doubt there’s a Brazil – Ireland direct flight.

  3. wearnicehats

    Having stayed just the one night in a couple of those in the past all I can say is, poor sods

    1. millie bobby brownie

      I’ve stayed in worse and been charged more for it. They’re not great, and I certainly wouldn’t be wild on staying there for 2 weeks quarantine (at my own cost, no less) but they’re hardly slums.

    2. Jibjob

      I have stayed at the Crowne Plaza a good few times – I used to have meetings just walking distance away. Nice place. My wife loved the Club area. Personally I loved the breakfast bar (where I had epic quantities of Bircher muesli).

  4. Morning George

    So how does this all work.I travel from Brazil ,pre book my desired quarantine hotel befire flying and show proof of my hotel booking when I land.Or,I land in Dublin and promise to book a hotel,bye and see ya later.

  5. Kim The Cardassian

    Instead of putting people who arrive in the state with a negative test in to hotels they should be doing it to people who contract covid or are close contacts. That would get the numbers down sharpish.

    1. Andrew

      500 people and more per day for the last few months Kim AND their close contacts? have you thought this out?

  6. frank

    To travel to Ireland you only need a “COVID-19 RT-PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to arrival in Ireland” – 72 hours is 3 days!!! who’s to say you couldn’t get Covid in the those 3 days!!

    Sure you could get it in the intervening 3 days or in the taxi on the way to the airport or in the bloody airport prior to flying.

    But yet we’ve let tens of thousands of people in from red listed countries with new ‘highly transmissible’ variants.

    I would assume if you were diagnosed with a new variant and you have not left the state and abided by Covid restrictions etc. you could sue the state for criminal negligence

    1. Micko

      The 72 hours test – It’s a box ticking exercise Frank

      There’s no stopping this thing – there never was man

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