Cabinet sub-committee to plan country's handling of Covid for coming year, says Taoiseach

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: “I want to thank the Irish people for the manner in which you responded to the pandemic." Photo: Press Office of Taoiseach

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said the Cabinet sub-committee on Covid will meet on Monday to chart how the country will manage the virus for the coming year.

Stressing that while restrictions are being further eased from next week, he said the pandemic is not over and further action will be needed.

Speaking in Berlin, he paid tribute to the public for the resilience shown over the past two years.

“I want to thank the Irish people for the manner in which you responded to the pandemic. The resilience of the Irish people was clearly displayed and revealed throughout the pandemic itself,” he said.

“It was very difficult. It has been a very difficult period. Many people have lost their lives as a result of the pandemic. 

Many families have been bereaved, many people have fallen ill to the disease, and it's created a huge strain at different times on our health services.

Mr Martin said the country owes an enormous debt of gratitude to all those who worked on the frontline in healthcare services. He said we are now moving out of the emergency phase into a transitional phase. 

"We have a Covid Cabinet sub-committee meeting on Monday. The challenges and the agenda will be to map out how we manage and navigate through Covid over the next 12 months. How do we get in place a more permanent vaccination infrastructure that we can deploy more rapidly. 

"Are we looking at an annual vaccine for Covid, for example, for the elderly and immunocompromised people?"