The Cabinet will tonight decide if pubs will be allowed reopen on Monday or if they will be pushed back again.
Pubs were originally supposed to open on July 20 but all of phase four was pushed back due to a spike in coronavirus cases.
Since then cases have risen even higher meaning there is considerable doubt on whether the revised August 10 date will now get the green light.
We will be updating readers throughout the day on all the latest developments in our live blog right here.
Here's what politicians, publicans and health experts have been saying in the lead up to today's big decision.
Publicans demand fair chance
Publicans are calling on the Government to give them a chance to show they can implement the rules or give them a "meaningful" support plan.
Donall O’Keeffe, LVA Chief Executive, said: "Pubs across the country can’t continue to be left in limbo.
"It is creating intolerable pressure for publicans, their staff and suppliers. With less than seven days to go until the pubs are due to reopen, we still don’t know what is happening.
"This is exactly the same situation we were in three weeks ago. We can’t just keep going from three week period to three week period. How many times are the Government going to walk an entire industry up that hill of uncertainty?
"The Government can’t keep kicking the can down the road when it comes to tackling the future of the pub sector. Either they are going to let us trade or they won’t. If they won’t they need to come up with a meaningful compensation package for the sector.
"No other industry is facing this level of insecurity and no other sector has been singled out in a way that the pubs of this country have been."
VFI Chief Executive Padraig Cribben says: “It’s vital that our members open on 10th August.
"After the Government decision to postpone
reopening at virtually the last minute three weeks ago, any further delay would bring many publicans to breaking point. They simply can’t
survive much longer.
"Our members feel the Government is using the trade as a convenient ‘messaging tool’ to capture public attention.
"As the Taoiseach has stated on several occasions, keeping pubs shut is designed to send a strong message to the public about avoiding complacency. This approach is highly disrespectful to publicans, their families and the 25,000 staff anxiously waiting to find out if they have a job to go back to next Monday.
"Our message to the Taoiseach is simple: open the pubs and allow our members prove they can implement the reopening guidelines.”
Politicians refuse to be drawn on decision
The Taoiseach and Cabinet ministers have been tight-lipped on what the pub decision will be as they await an NPHET recommendation.
Former minister Shane Ross last night claimed it would be "madness" to reopen the pubs this soon.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin said on Friday the number of new cases will be monitored "very carefully" over the bank holiday weekend before a decision is made on allowing pubs and nightclubs to reopen their doors.
But the Cabinet will let their thoughts be known later today.
Health experts
Assistant Professor of Virology at Trinity College, Dr Kim Roberts, said opening pubs and nightclubs was "risky" as she expressed concern about the fact 20% of recent cases came from community transmission.
"That's the group that I'm keeping a close eye on because when we have community transmission we're usually not seeing the full picture," she told RTE's Morning Ireland.
"I think pubs and nightclubs are a significant risky activity for the transmission of the virus because you're indoors, people are packed together, there's lots of talking and there's no wearing of face coverings so the usefulness of the interventions can be reduced.
"It is a very difficult decision but where numbers are starting to creep up, now is the time to try and stamp out the virus to try and control it."
Leading Professor Luke O'Neill said on Tuesday morning however that there is a "strong case" for rural pubs to be allowed open.
However the Professor told Pat Kenny on Newstalk that this is not the case with big city pubs.
Follow all the very latest updates in our live blog right here.
