An assistant professor of virology at University College Dublin has said antigen testing on travellers coming into Ireland will not reduce the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 and is just "window dressing".
Dr Gerald Barry said there should be a bigger emphasis on controlling the spread of the disease within the country, rather than focusing on border controls.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Dr Barry said it is necessary to dramatically ramp up the testing and tracing system to detect new cases and rapidly clamp down on them.
He said the intention behind antigen testing before flights to reduce variants is correct, but the manner in which it is being done "will not achieve that aim".