The minister in charge of rolling out Digital Covid Certificates will be on holidays when they are launched next week.Ireland is the last EU country to adopt the system and hundreds of thousands of people are still waiting for their passes to arrive.But Green Party Minister of State Ossian Smyth has told officials he cannot take part in media events linked to the launch, as he will be on holidays elsewhere in Ireland.Mr Smyth is planning to spend a week in one the countrys Gaeltacht regions.
The Government is already lagging behind the rest of Europe on introducing Covid Certificates and scrambling to have the system up and running for Monday.
The introduction of the travel passes, which will also be used for indoor dining, was engulfed in confusion this week over conflicting comments about how people can get their documentation.
Mr Smyths summer holiday come as 400,000 people are still waiting for their passes to arrive. The most recent figures from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform show around 1.5 million people have so for been sent their Digital Covid Certificate.
This includes one million passes emailed to people who have been vaccinated while a further 575,000 were posted.
The EU Covid Certificates can be used to travel abroad from Monday. Then on July 26 they will be used to allow vaccinated people access restaurants, bars and cafes.
A Green Party Government spokesperson said: The minister is staying in Ireland and going to the Gaeltacht where he will be spending some time outdoors while also continuing with his ministerial work.
“His job was to set up a system to send out Digital Covid Certificates to people who have been vaccinated and that work is almost completed.
Around 1.5 million certificates have been emailed and another 575,000 posted out. It is expected that the remaining 400,000 certs, which are being processed and posted out by the Revenue Commissioners, will arrive early week.
The spokesperson noted responsibility for operating the helpline for people who have recovered from Covid-19 in the last six months lies with the Department of Health, and not with Minister Smyth. He added that a number of other Government departments are overseeing the system for checking the certificates at ports and airports.
Mr Smyth was at the centre of confusion over the role of GPs in issuing indoor dining certificates to people who have recovered from Covid-19 in the last six months.
During an interview on RTE Radio One, the Dun Laoghaire TD claimed Tourism Minister Catherine Martin misunderstood indoor dining legislation which had been passed by Cabinet. Ms Martin has said in some circumstances people who have recovered from Covid will be able to contact their GP for a medical certificate for proof. The comments angered GPs, who had not been consulted.
The Green Party deputy leaders comments were based on a Cabinet memo which said a relevant medical practitioner could be used for booking and entry to premises, with accompanying photo ID for cross verification.
Mr Smyth subsequently issued a statement saying Ms Martin was correct.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said there were rare circumstances where people would be able to get medical certificates from GPs.
However, the Irish Medical Organisation has said there is no role for GPs in issue indoor dining certificates.