Taoiseach 'optimistic' about easing Covid restrictions from next week
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan earlier said he was confident that restrictions could be lifted "quickly" and "very widely" starting from next week.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said there is reason to be optimistic that Covid restrictions will be eased, starting from next week.
Speaking on his way into today's Cabinet meeting, he said: "We'll take it step by step.
"The Omicron situation, the manner in which that has happened, the widespread nature of its transmission and so on, and the fact that we've managed so far to weather that storm I think gives us grounds for optimism in that medium term right out to March.
"Throughout the year, we have to be mindful of course of other variants that may come and also the fact that even now the disease levels relative to previous waves are still fairly high, but that said, we can be optimistic about the medium term."
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan earlier said he was confident that restrictions could be lifted "quickly" and "very widely" starting from next week.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) is due to meet on Thursday and it is expected that a second Cabinet meeting to sign off on the phased easing of Covid measures will be held on Friday.
Ministers are eager to give businesses time to prepare for further reopening.
"I think we need to start bringing back some of our social life. I think that's important for our health, wellbeing, welfare," said Mr Ryan.
He indicated that the 8pm closing time for hospitality as well as getting people back into the office will be among the first things looked at.
"I think the likes of our sporting, cultural events, artistic events, particularly outdoors obviously, it makes sense that we start bringing them back.
"It's important that people who are working from home do start to have the chance to come back in, particularly into the office. So in my mind restoring the return to work," Mr Ryan said.
However, he said the full details and sequencing will have to be worked out between public health experts and the Government.
Mr Ryan said he does not expect restrictions to be eased this weekend, stating: "It will be next week, towards the end of next week, I expect that we'll see the restrictions starting to be lifted."
He also expects that Covid certs will not be required for hospitality after March if the trajectory of the virus remains positive.
"We have to be careful with Covid, it can keep changing so nothing is certain but certainly the position we're in at the moment is a lot better than it looked a number of weeks ago.
"The numbers in ICU have held steady, the virulence of the virus, the health consequences, while for some people still very significant, no one should underestimate it, no one should downplay the severity for some people, but it's not in the same numbers as previous variants. And that looks like it's going to give us the chance to start lifting restrictions quickly, in my mind, very widely," he told RTÉ's programme.
He said boosters have worked and encouraged anyone who has not yet received a booster to get one.
