Taoiseach Micheál Martin yesterday told TDs that 60 per cent of those travelling through Irish airports “are returned Irish holidaymakers” and €500 may not be “a sufficient disincentive to travel abroad”.

He added: “The government is considering increasing that to €2,000 to act as a significant deterrent to people travelling because all non-essential travelling should be avoided.”

Mr Martin also said legislation would be brought to Cabinet next Tuesday to deal with mandatory quarantining.