It follows Ireland's highest daily recorded COVID cases since April.
430 cases of Covid-19 were reported in Ireland on Sunday evening, the highest daily total since April.
Ireland also currently has 18 cases of Covid-19 in intensive care units across the country, the highest number since June.
Speaking to
Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Monaghan-based GP Dr Illona Duffy was introduced as supporting a fine being given to those who fail to self-isolate if they have tested positive for COVID-19 or who are waiting for the results of a COVID-19 test.
Similar fines are already in place in other countries around the world, and Dr Duffy stated that "The big concern at the moment is not just that we're getting sporadic cases, but they're getting community spread, more and more cases where people are passing it on because they're not actually in isolation when they should be in isolation. I feel we have to do something."
Dr Duffy continued that there still seems to be some confusion around the need to self-isolate for some:
"If you are a close contact, you must isolate for two weeks. During that time you will be offered two tests, but those tests aren't to get you out of isolation early. They're purely to see if you could have it and be asymptomatic."
"Perhaps better than fines is actually a better education campaign about this, because there remains confusion about why you need to be isolating for 14 days if you're a close contact, and why it's only ten days if you are someone who tests positive."
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