There are calls for tougher laws to force people arriving into the country to tell authorities where they will be self-isolating.

Currently people arriving at the airport are required to sign a passenger location form, including details of where they will be staying.

However, Department of Justice figures reveal that more than a third of passengers arriving into Dublin Airport in the past six days did not fill out the form.

Over 600 people either failed to put in an address or put in something that was too vague for authorities to be able to locate them.

Meanwhile, over four days at the end of April, more than a third of those that did fill in the form, failed to answer follow-up calls from the Border Management Unit at the airport.

The Department said 88% of passengers arriving into the country through Dublin Port were exempt from the self-isolation requirement.

The Border Management Unit made 97 calls to passengers who had arrived in through the port, with 74% of their calls answered.

Almost everyone who answered the calls, whether they arrived in by air or sea, confirmed that they were self-isolating.

“We are operating in a situation where people should only be travelling where it is essential,” the Department said in a statement.

“The numbers arriving into Ireland are very small, the majority of which are Irish citizens returning home.

“Any person intending to travel, who may not be in a position to self-isolate, should, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, reconsider their need to travel to Ireland at this time.”

Marc McSharry. Image: OireachtasTV

Fianna Fáil transport spokesperson Marc MacSharry said authorities may need more powers to deal with the issue.

“When there are encouraging signs and progress being made following the sacrifice people have made over the last couple of months, we don’t want that jeopardised by people coming in,” he said.

“It is vitally important that, if people are coming in, they are given the appropriate information and they making the are declarations as to where they will self-isolate and so on so that if we begin to have another increase and another spike, the contact tracing can be dealt with very quickly.”

He said he will be raiding the issue with the Department of Transport.

“Certainly, there clearly is a gap in relation to the resources that are available to authorities at the airport,” he said.

“If people are refusing, or through wilful neglect, not making the appropriate declarations that they need to, it is certainly something we will raise with the Minister for Transport and if there are additional powers needed for these people then I would certainly be pushing for that to happen.”

The Government is now considering new regulations making it mandatory for people to clearly fill out the form and self-isolate after arriving into the country.