The Cabinet will next week move to extend Level 5 restrictions until late February as Taoiseach Micheál Martin promised a “very significant ramping up” of Covid-19 vaccinations.
Ministers will meet next Tuesday to extend restrictions beyond the end of this month and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney confirmed to the Fine Gael parliamentary party last night that the “vast majority of restrictions will be maintained well into February”.
Coveney said the issue would be discussed at a Cabinet subcommittee meeting next week before a decision is made by Cabinet on Tuesday.
Officials in the Department of Education are currently exploring whether schools can reopen in February.