Around half the people arriving into Dublin Airport earlier this week were coming from holiday destinations.

The Taoiseach Micheál Martin last night vowed to clamp down on people travelling abroad on holiday.

He told his Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party colleagues last night that 397 of 800 arrivals into Dublin airport on Monday were from holiday spots.

He said people heading away on holiday will soon face tougher sanctions.

Gardaí are continuing to conduct checkpoints at airports and ports for non-essential travel. Going on a holiday abroad is not essential travel. pic.twitter.com/GgkpNIdeUD

— An Garda Síochána (@GardaTraffic) January 27, 2021

However, the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) CEO Pat Dawson is insisting international travel is not the big issue.

“There are other areas where COVID has spread and we saw before Christmas that it is mainly households as such,” he said.

“So certainly, international travel has to be very, very careful and the incidence of international travel bringing COVID into the country is less than 1%.

“But having said all of that, certainly, people have to be mindful of it.”

A child plays with the waves on the Nova Icaria beach in Barcelona, Spain, 17-01-2021. Image: Jordi Boixareu/Zuma Press/PA Images

He said people who have booked flights are now in a difficult situation.

“If the consumer doesn’t fly, he or she doesn’t get back their money,” he said.

“So, there is an issue with that and we had that all summer, there were ghost flights so the airlines are forcing people to go because they won’t refund their money.”

It comes as people from 12 countries are temporarily banned from visiting Ireland on holidays.

Visa-free travel from South Africa and 11 South American countries was shut off at midnight last night.

The ban is set to remain in place until March 5th, when the current Level five restrictions are due to end.

Last night, the Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said Ireland could return to a version of Level Four restrictions on the same date.

Level Four allows people to travel within their own counties, and permits outdoor dining for pubs, cafes and restaurants.