Ireland spent almost €25m in taxpayer money on mandatory hotel quarantine last year

Ireland spent almost €25million in taxpayer money on Mandatory Hotel Quarantine (MHQ) last year. 

That's according to figures released by the Department of Health, which revealed 10,398 people passed through the system during its operation. 

The MHQ system was introduced last year as an exceptional public health measure due to fears of importing Covid-19 variants of concern. 

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It was operational between March and September 2021 before being renewed again in October 2021. 

However, it was then scaled back due to changes in the designation of a number of states. 

Latest figures show 1,607 rooms were ringfenced across eight hotels, reduced to six hotels from July. 

At its peak, the greatest number of people in MHQ at one time reached 1,008 people in May 2021. 

The total costs went towards accommodation, security, transportation to and from seaports and airports to designated quarantine facilities, weekly Covid-19 testing of MHQ staff and 24/7 GP-led healthcare provision. 

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Other incurred costs were related to expert legal reports, public communications, ICT equipment rental and facilities at ports of entry. 

Nine and a half million euro was received from paying guests, with a deferral of payment established in some cases for travellers experiencing financial hardship. 

Despite this payment, the total cost to the state for the MHQ system over the 6 months was €24.7million.