A woman who recently travelled from Malaga to Dublin has described coronavirus measures here in Ireland as 'very lax' compared to those in Spain.
Cathryn told The Hard Shoulder she was caught in lockdown in Malaga in Spain, ultimately spending four months there.
She travelled back to Dublin last week, having waited until direct flights resumed between the two countries.
She explained that the lockdown in Spain was 'very severe', with people only allowed out of their properties at certain times.
Cathryn told Ivan: "Everybody wore masks, everybody sanitised at the doors going into shops, you also had to wear gloves going into supermarkets. There was a staff member at the door to absolutely police it. That was just how we lived.
"Malaga Airport was incredible to come through. It was compulsory to wear a mask for the entire time, through Malaga Airport and through your flight.
"As you went to go through to have your bags scanned, everybody was full-body temperature checked. You were then told to go straight to your plane, although there was one coffee shop open."
She said there were only 17 people on the plane between Malaga and Dublin, and all passengers wore masks during the flight.
Arriving in Ireland
Cathryn said the plane landed in an area of Dublin Airports were there were renovations ongoing.
She explained: "There was like a polling booth table set up, with the COVID location forms and a plastic cup full of pens, for all the passengers to hang out there and fill out their forms... no sanitisation available, nobody monitoring whether it was cleaned after each person.
"[There was] no visible sign of any protective gear or mask on anybody in the immigration hall. I handed in my passport to look at - the girl took my passport immediately after the previous person's passport. No sanitisation in between, no mask, nothing.
"There were no temperature scans, no advising about restrictions. Most people in the airport didn't have masks on.
"I did feel that when somebody handled my passport and hadn't sanitised in front of me... and the pens and the COVID forms in a plastic cup on a table everybody was going to be using... I thought it was probably very lax in my view."
She also pointed to the seating arrangements in the arrivals area of the airport, where there was just a 'piece of paper on a seat' to encourage social distancing - as opposed to seats being ribboned off in Malaga.
Cathryn then travelled from the airport in a taxi with a perspex screen, with the driver telling her that masks weren't mandatory for the journey.
They drove through Dublin city centre, with Cathryn noticing "lots of people congregating together" and nobody making sure social distancing was followed.
Dublin Airport response
Paul O’Kane, Chief Communications Officer at DAA, insisted that airport management couldn't be taking the situation more seriously.
He told Ivan: "Our key goal here... is the safety of passengers and staff.
"We recommend face masks or face coverings in all buildings... for all passengers, for everyone aged 13 or over unless they have a medical condition.
"That applies to staff as well - in any area where staff can't be socially distant, they are to wear a mask. In certain areas for our staff masks are mandatory.
"I can't comment specifically on the experiences your listener had in relation to immigration - the immigration operation is up to the Department of Justice. I can't comment on their procedures - I'm sure they have procedures."
He added that they have 900 sanitisers "right across the airport, in all locations".
