Two of the three people who left a mandatory quarantine hotel yesterday have now returned to the facility.
One person who absconded from the Crowne Plaza near Dublin Airport is back in their room after being located by Gardaí
In a separate incident, two more residents left the hotel - one has since returned and a search is ongoing for the other person.
The first people were brought to the facility from Dublin Airport less than two days ago after the new rules came into force on Friday.
It is understood Gardaí were called in by the Defence Forces liaison officer at the hotel near the airport yesterday afternoon.
The Department of Health said anyone who breaks quarantine faces a fine and jail time.
However, it refused to comment further, saying it would not discuss individual cases "in the interests of protecting confidentiality".
Frank Thornton, president of the Garda Representative Association, said it is inevitable that something like this would happen.
"Initially the commentary from the policymakers was that Gardaí would have a minimum input," he said.
"Yet in the first 24 hours, our members were directly involved in this crisis management yesterday.
"It shows the impact and the additional burden being placed on our members is not always clearly understood by the legislation or the policymakers."
It comes as the conditions within facilities utilised for mandatory hotel quarantine have been described as "not fit for purpose".
Main image: Pictured on Friday outside Terminal 2 of Dublin Airport are a Defence Forces vehicle wait to escort the express bus which is waiting for passengers from 'high-risk' countries. Photo: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie
