Rise in Covid cases 'twice as bad' as worst projections, Tánaiste tells Fine Gael meeting 

Sources said that the Tánaiste said that the fact that travellers could fly into Belfast without a negative PCR test and travel across the border represented a "back door" into Ireland.

Mr Varadkar said the situation in hospitals was going to be "very difficult" for the next few weeks due to the high case numbers. Picture: Julien Behal

The rise in Covid cases has been "twice as bad as the worst-case projections," Tánaiste Leo Varadkar told a Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting today.

The rise in cases, the meeting heard, had arisen from a combination of factors including house gatherings, hospitality settings, the UK variant, travel around the country, mixing of homes over Christmas, international travel with people not isolating for 14 days, and illegal gatherings.