Now a holiday in Ireland looks unlikely as Brits told they are NOT exempt from quarantine

BRITS will still need to quarantine for 14 days if visiting Ireland, despite Irish citizens being exempt when entering the UK.

The news is a blow for anyone hoping to cross the sea for a holiday on the Emerald Isle this summer.

⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates

Initial reports claimed that the UK and Ireland would agree that travellers between the two countries would not be expected to quarantine for two weeks when arriving in each others' countries.

However, Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar said it will be mandatory for all travellers to quarantine for 14 days after arriving in Irish ports and airports, both British and Irish.

Mr Varadkar said: "We're going to do our best to get it right so that the Common Travel Area is protected, but also so that we can introduce and enforce that 14-day quarantine on people coming into our ports and airports.

He added: "The position is that anyone arriving into our ports and airports will be required to quarantine for 14 days.

"There are some exceptions, like pilots, cabin crew, hauliers, for example, some essential workers, but for the vast majority of people arriving into Ireland, into our ports and airports, they have to fill in the form, that's going to be the law, and they are also required to quarantine for 14 days."

"That will apply to people travelling from Britain.

"We will treat British citizens the same as Irish citizens. So, if you're an Irish citizen flying in from Birmingham, or a British citizen flying in from London, you will be treated the same."

Anyone travelling from Northern Ireland to Britain through Dublin will be allowed to do so without quarantining though.

This means that Brits travelling abroad on holiday could be forced to take four weeks of annual leave for a two week holiday due to the regulations.

The revelation follows on from the news that there will also be no exemption on the 14-day quarantine for British holidaymakers travelling between the UK and France this summer.

The idea of a 14-day quarantine has been slammed by airlines, who warn that it will kill the already-struggling travel industry.

British Airways may be forced to halt their fleet restarting in July, while Ryanair's Michael O'Leary called the two-week isolation period "stupid" and warned that it wasn't enforceable.

He also predicted it would be over by June as it won't work for international travel.

Spain is already looking into phasing out their 14-day quarantine regulation by the end of June.