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Two women arrested after refusing to enter mandatory hotel quarantine upon arrival in Dublin Airport have appeared before Tallaght District Court on Saturday afternoon.
The women have been charged with resisting being detained and brought to a quarantine facility under the Health (Amendment) Act 2021, the legislative basis for the mandatory quarantine regime for people coming from certain designated locations.
In both instances, the judge set bail conditions that included a personal bond of €800 and independent surety of €2,000, and that each woman present herself and reside at a designated quarantine hotel upon taking up bail.
Kirstie McGrath (30) of St Anthony’s Road, Dublin 8 was remanded in custody on consent to bail. She was offered bail on certain conditions, including financial surety. She has to reside at a quarantine hotel, on taking up bail, for 14 days.
Niamh Mulreany (25), of Scarlet Row, Essex Street West, Dublin 2, was given similar bail terms when she appeared before Judge Miriam Walsh.
When solicitor Michael French, for Ms Mulreany, said his client had been abroad for “breast enhancement or modification”, Judge Walsh said: “colloquially referred to as a boob job”.
The bail applications on behalf of the two women were made by Mr French and responded to by Inspector Luke Lacey, from the Dublin Airport Garda station.
Inspector Lacey said that despite numerous attempts by the gardaí at Dublin Airport on Friday to explain to the women the nature of the quarantine legislation and the consequences of not complying, they had refused to do so. Their decisions not to comply were consciously made.
Mr French told the court, during the two sequential hearings, that Ms McGrath had two young children and Ms Mulreany had one, and that in both instances the women were their children’s sole carers, and living on the lone parent’s allowance.
His client would be willing to quarantine at home, he told the judge when Ms McGrath’s case was before the court.
Inspector Lacey said the quarantine legislation was important in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and it was important that its integrity was upheld.
If Ms McGrath was to be released on bail without conditions, it would make a “mockery” of the legislation. The State was facing a dangerous situation with new variants of the coronavirus.
In each case the judge granted legal aid and appointed Mr French. He said that the women were of modest means, and would have difficulty complying with the bail conditions on a Saturday afternoon.
Upon conviction, the offence under which the women are charged carries a penalty of a fine of up to €2,000 or one month in jail.
The two cases were adjourned to the April 9th at 10.30 am.
The court appearances had been initially scheduled for the criminal courts of justice in Dublin at 10.30am on Saturday.
On Friday it was reported that the two women were arriving from the United Arab Emirates, where they had travelled for plastic surgery.
Passengers arriving into the State from certain “high-risk” countries must now spend up to 14 days in one of four designated hotels before they can travel on to their destination.
On Friday gardaí confirmed they had been called to Dublin Airport by the State Liaison officer in the afternoon and implemented the “4Es approach” - engaging, explaining and encouraging with enforcement a last resort.
The women were arrested for breaches of the health act after failing to comply with gardaí, and were taken to Ballymun Garda station.