Nearly 15,000 people arrived in to Dublin Airport last week – up 16% on the week before.

The arrivals included over 9,200 Irish residents and over 5,700 foreign visitors.

It means the number of residents returning was up 18% on last week and the number of foreign visitors was up 14%.

The increase comes despite the ongoing mandatory hotel quarantine regulations that are in place.

Fianna Fáil senator Lisa Chambers said many of the people travelling have good reason for doing so.

“We are an island nation so we can’t cut ourselves off completely and a lot of that essential travel,” she said.

“It is not holidaymakers. It is people that are travelling for good reason for the most part.

“People that maybe have to travel because they are Irish citizens – they may have a loved one here that is unwell or worse could have a funeral to attend.

“There are reasons and on compassionate grounds, we have to facilitate some level of entry into the country.”

The Dáil will tomorrow vote on whether to extend mandatory hotel quarantine for another three months.

Senator Chambers said she will be supporting an extension.

“The public health advice is that there is a concern about the Indian variant and other potential new variants so I think it is with a degree of caution that the Government are moving in that direction to extend for a short period the mandatory hotel quarantine requirement for countries on the red list,” she said.

“But as we know, if you are fully vaccinated you are exempt from the mandatory hotel quarantine.”

Last night, 365 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were announced.

The number of people in hospital rose slightly again alongside the number of people in intensive care.