There's a reasonable chance that Ireland faces a third wave of the coronavirus, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has said.
The Minister for Transport and Environment, Climate and Communications has also said that people can make a judgement about whether they're going to come home for Christmas.
He was speaking to Gavan Reilly on Newstalk this morning, and confirmed that he would be willing to have the COVID-19 vaccine live on air.
When asked about travelling home for Christmas, he stressed that it's important to not "shame" people who travel.
He said: "They are the best to make that call. It's not up to Government to make those calls, it's up to the each individual to make those calls. We're not promoting a huge amount of people returning.
"I think this [guidelines] is working well for us. What we shouldn't be doing is shaming those people [who may travel]. We don't know individual circumstances."
And while admitting that there is a chance there could be a third wave of COVID-19 in Ireland in the New Year, he defended the Government's decision to open the economy back up - despite a warning of caution from NPHET.
He continued: "It was a difficult balancing act [making decision based on NPHET advice]. We decided to open earlier than NPHET advised, it's a very difficult equation. It's a guidance, such as on busy streets like Henry Street, wear a mask. We learned that retail was a safe, good environment. We had to make some judgement calls."
