COVID-19 testing may be introduced at ports and airports in Ireland.

The Department of Transport has told the Oireachtas coronavirus committee it's considering the measure.

The department's Secretary General Ken Spratt said officials believe there is "more that could be done."

“We are giving consideration to potentially introducing departure point testing and also some testing is already in place in Dublin Airport – particularly where a person with symptoms is presenting," he said.

“We are considering what additional measures we could and perhaps should introduce.”

It comes after representatives of the aviation sector warned that the industry is facing a tsunami of redundancies.

Industry bodies said the ‘green list’ for international travel is illogical and warned that the sector is facing into a point of no return.

The President of the Irish Airline Pilots Association Captain Evan Cullen said the list is not based on science – and questioned why the Irish industry has not received the supports on offer in other European countries.

Meanwhile, SIPTU Aviation Sector Organiser Niall McGowan said thousands of jobs will be lost if the Government doesn't intervene.

“In relation to the Dublin Airport campus, 2,500 redundancies is probably the thin end of the wedge,” he said.

“Shannon Airport are seeking an unspecified number of redundancies.”

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning he said there was a “tsunami of redundancies” on the way and called for State wage subsidy schemes to be tied to commitments not to introduce compulsory redundancies.

The committee heard that if the Government doesn't help the Irish aviation industry now, it may not be there in the new year.