People must 'double down' on public health measures

Eamon Ryan: Impact of new variant here may not be known for a few weeks so we need to remain vigilant

Eamonn Ryan: "It will take two or three weeks to see if the Omicron variant increases transmissibility, increases illnesses, or gets around vaccines."

It will be two to three weeks before Ireland knows the impact of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, the Transport Minister says.

Eamon Ryan said surveillance was ongoing but it would take time to ascertain whether the variant had infected anyone in Ireland.