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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that it wont be possible to "sneak" into ROI via NI?

179 replies

PyongyangKipperbang · 22/12/2020 00:44

Not me, someone I know.

Supposed to be going to ROI to visit family and obviously now cant go direct, so she is thinking of going to Belfast and driving down through the border to ROI.

2 issues, with no proof of destination in NI , will they even be allowed off the boat? And isnt there a huge risk of being stuck there, which would mean missing work and would cause them massive money problems?

OP posts:
CatholicKidston · 22/12/2020 08:48

@theDudesmummy

I have heard of a number of people doing or planning to do this and it is appalling many of us in the south. There were cars from all over the Republic waiting to pick people up at Belfast Airport yesterday. Arlene won't close the ports/airport. So we have to rely on people not being selfish dicks...which is not enough to stop some people sadly...
It's appalling those of us in the north too! Plane loads of people potentially carrying this new strain bringing it through NI when they don't have any business being here at all. I can understand people dashing from London to come home to NI but using our country in this way is shit, we are already at breaking point here without people bringing this new strain in.
theDudesmummy · 22/12/2020 08:52

@CatholicKidston yes, it is just dickish behaviour all round, and bad for all of us on the island. NI is in a bad way and now people are using you as a bridge. Some people just cannot think beyond "I want and no-one's going to stop me".

My kids could have come home to Ireland for Xmas as they live in other EU countries not the UK. But they decided to do the right thing and stay put...

MinnieMountain · 22/12/2020 08:57

We were discussing this jokingly with friends last night. They didn’t think it’s possible to get to her family in the ROI now and wouldn’t try anyway.

Aerielview · 22/12/2020 09:02

I know of someone who flew from London to Dublin during the summer. When he landed in Dublin he was asked to fill out the passenger locator form, and told he would have to restrict his movements for 14 days. Rather than do this, he caught the next flight back to London, booked a flight to Belfast and drove down to Dublin. Didn't restrict his movements when he was here.
As long as people can do the likes of this, it makes a joke of all the rest of us who are abiding to the rules and guidelines in order to stop the spread of this horrible (and head-wrecking) virus.
So yes, your friend will get away with it unfortunately. But well done for pointing out to her that what she plans to do is morally wrong. Thank you.

CatholicKidston · 22/12/2020 09:11

What I want to know is, why are these planes being allowed to leave London? I thought travel had been banned??

Fbtw · 22/12/2020 09:12

Travel between Northern Ireland and the UK is allowed for essential purposes eg work reasons, to visit a dying relative, hospital treatment and the like.

Luckystar1 · 22/12/2020 09:15

I’m amazed generally at the levels of hypocrisy in Ireland. I live on the border in the North. We have people from the South coming up daily (I mean vast amounts of people), with Wicklow, Wexford, Cork plates, doing their shopping, not a bother on them.

Now seemingly up to collect their friends and family arriving in Belfast on flights that they booked (no one forced them to come back, you know!), again, not a bother on them. Thanks very much the North for your cheap groceries and open airports to get our Christmas food and our families home for Christmas.... and then, the cheek, saying ‘the North is a disgrace’, ‘we don’t want you coming over the border’, ‘how can you keep your airports open bringing in the new strain’!

Err it’s the people travelling who are bringing in the new strain, not the people of the North. The very same people being the ones who are travelling happily down the South with their families who have welcomed them back with open arms... and the same people who will no doubt be flying home from Belfast and spreading their germs around the airport to the poor craters working there!

shitinmyhandsandclap · 22/12/2020 09:16

A friend wants to do this? A friend? Yeah right

TheYearOfSmallThings · 22/12/2020 09:22

If she can get to Northern Ireland then she can get to the Republic - there is nothing to stop her.

I think people picture that border very different to how it is. You can cross it without knowing in lots of places.

Stillfunny · 22/12/2020 09:23

Getting more irate over this situation and not just about this individual. The ROI has closed the entry points that it can. The UK / Irish border is joint so ROI does not have full control. I live near border and there are checkpoints . But what a waste of resources that we have patrol against
stupid , ignorant people.
It is so selfish that these people think that their family gathering is more important than other families health.
I know that in my neighbourhood that if we saw a relative that we know lives in UK around , they would hugely judged. And not many people would want to meet up in any way. Lots of people have had to make the tough decision to avoid family members this Xmas . An equal sacrifice is expected off everyone.
So , this woman can possibly do what she plans but you cant argue with stupid. Moron.

onlythepianoplayer · 22/12/2020 09:26

t what I dont get is why ROI made such a huge fuss about locking the front door when they have left the back door swinging wide open to all and sundry

You don't know what you are talking about. It's not possible to "close the border"...it simply can't be done. Ireland has not made a "huge fuss" Hmm about stopping people coming in on flights and ferries, its just that is much easier than an unmanned long land border.

Honestly, have all the talks about the border and Brexit taught you nothing?

Aerielview · 22/12/2020 09:28

[quote PyongyangKipperbang]@NiceGerbil

I am well aware of the history thank you, but what I dont get is why ROI made such a huge fuss about locking the front door when they have left the back door swinging wide open to all and sundry. All it takes is to change destination from Dublin to Belfast for anyone from England to get to the south, so what was the point in closing the South to flights and ferries?[/quote]
You've summed our situation up very nicely, op.
Our government would never had taken the initiative themselves to ban travel from the UK - to do so would have been too politically sensitive for them.
They're now just adopting a copy-cat approach by following the lead of other EU countries.
But you describe it very well by saying they've locked the front door and left the back door swinging wide open.

onlythepianoplayer · 22/12/2020 09:30

But you describe it very well by saying they've locked the front door and left the back door swinging wide open

If you don't understand that that is because your back door doesn't lock and in fact doesn't even have a bloody door, probably time to be quiet.

theDudesmummy · 22/12/2020 09:32

@Luckystar1 just to clarify, what is dickish is the fact that these people are doing this when it is clearly morally wrong (even though it is both possible and legal), no blame for the people of NI in general, you are being used by selfish people from the south (as you can see from my earlier remarks I am strongly opposed to Arlene and everything she stands for, but that's not to blame the NI population in general).

One reason among several that my DCs have decided not to come to Ireland for Xmas is that everyone here where we live (small rural village) knows we are British and if they see our kids here they would assume, unless they knew us well, that they had come here from the UK. We are trying to settle here, be accepted in the village (and eventually become Irish) and we don't want to create any wrong perceptions...

MysweetAudrina · 22/12/2020 09:34

Well in all likelihood it will only be her family that she is mixing with as everything else down here is going to be shut. If she and her family are happy to take the risk and live with the consequences then let them at it. There will always be those who do what they want but hopefully there will always be enough other who are capable of seeing the bigger picture and doing what is asked of them. There are lots of Garda checkpoints about the place so she may or may not get stopped and again she will have to live with those consequences. It seems like a mad time to risk any cross border travel at this time because the situation is so changeable and the chances of getting stuck in another Country must be quite high. It would appear to me that most of the risks she is taking are ones that will impact mostly on her so let her off and let her deal with her own conscience. She won't enjoy her time her as she will be worrying about getting stopped, possibly infecting her family and not being able to return home.

notacooldad · 22/12/2020 09:47

You seem very over invested in how someone can cross the border undetected seeing that it is only about 'someone you know'

Aerielview · 22/12/2020 09:48

@onlythepianoplayer

But you describe it very well by saying they've locked the front door and left the back door swinging wide open

If you don't understand that that is because your back door doesn't lock and in fact doesn't even have a bloody door, probably time to be quiet.

Or perhaps instead it's time for you to think this one through logically - If we can't close the "back door" then what's the point of closing the "front door" in the first place?? All we're doing is shifting the problem from Dublin airport to Belfast airport. People are going to fly to Belfast and drive over the border. So what has the government achieved??
RuggerHug · 22/12/2020 09:48

Mysweetaudrina......I don't know if you're being sarcastic or thick but it's not just her family she would bring it to...It's EVERYONE THEY WILL COME IN CONTACT WITH FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, AND EVERYONE THEY COME IN CONTACT WITH AND EVERYONE etc etc. Get it?

theDudesmummy · 22/12/2020 10:02

I get the point about the back door, but I do feel that the Irish government are doing what they can, and should continue to do so. The stop to direct flights/ferries to the Republic will at least decrease the number of people coming from the UK, by firstly actually having fewer flights/ferries available, and secondly, at least some people will think that it is not a good idea to come through NI, whether it's because they actually care about other people and the message of the closed ports in the south reinforces this, or they just think that it is too much hassle.

Sweetmotherofallthatisholyabov · 22/12/2020 10:38

Also to the point about the back door it's like saying its pointless to shut shops and restaurants but keep supermarkets open. It's about doing what you can and reducing risks. There's not much that can be done about the northern border, it's not like theres a shed somewhere with all the barbed wire they took down from the checkpoints and borders that they can lash up.

theDudesmummy · 22/12/2020 10:44

That's right, we have to reduce the risks by doing the things we can do, it's like the "Swiss cheese" model: not sanitiser, nor 2m space, nor non-medical masks, nor hand-washing, nor opening the windows, (nor even the vaccines, which are not 100% effecttive) is likely to stop all the spread, but the more of these things we do the more cases we prevent. We are not going to stop doing them because they are not completely effective. If we cannot close the back door we can at least close the front.

theDudesmummy · 22/12/2020 10:47

But if Nicola can effectively close the Scottish border while certainly remaining within the UK (I know she doesn't want to but that's a different issue) I cannot for the life of me see why Arlene can't close hers.

theDudesmummy · 22/12/2020 10:48

I mean her border with Britain, not with the Republic of course...

Fbtw · 22/12/2020 10:51

@theDudesmummy

I mean her border with Britain, not with the Republic of course...
Because Arlene doesn’t think there should be a border because she sees Northern Ireland as an equal part of the uk.
Thenitbeginsagain · 22/12/2020 10:52

It will be incredibly easy to do it. No issues at all.

Just highlights how selfish everyone is. Even all those complaining about not being able to fly home now - if they cared about doing it they would already be in ROI so they’ve their 5 day quarantine and private test done before Christmas Eve. I’ve no problem with anyone travelling back for Christmas but they should do it properly.

Clearly no one had any intentions of doing so.