A further 398 Covid-19 cases have been confirmed this afternoon.
70 people are currently in Irish hospitals with Covid-19, 23 of which are in ICU.
The cases were confirmed by the Department of Health this evening.
In comparison, yesterday's update from Nphet reported 259 new cases of the virus, with 76 people in hospital and 27 in ICU.
Earlier today, the Taoiseach issued a "note of warning" over the Indian Covid-19 variant and said that the government is keeping a "very close eye" on rising hospital and case numbers in the UK.
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, Micheal Martin said "Well can I just put one note of warning and concern is the Indian variant and what is happening in the United Kingdom, we said we would keep a close eye on that and we are keeping a close eye on that."
He added: "We're making good progress, the hospitalisations this morning are 77 in hospital, 27 in ICU, so it's so far, so good. Although there is a Bank Holiday effect in terms of the numbers which will see numbers increase towards the end of the week.
"But we are just watching the British situation and the fact they are looking at higher hospitalisations, and in particular geographies, in Britain. The numbers are going up, so we're keeping a very close eye on that."
The Taoiseach also set a new vaccine target as he aims for 70% of the adult population to be fully vaccinated by the end of next month.
Elsewhere, thousands of PUP claims will be checked by gardai following the return to work of claimants.
Department of Social Protection officials confirmed that more than 20 officers are working to examine all payments.
A spokesman said: "The Department runs post-payment checks that include verifying data against Revenue records, examining cases where the same Bank account is used multiple times, examining cases where an employer or members of the public report concerns, and the use of data analytics to identify and check claims. It also undertakes employer inspections.
"This work is undertaken by the Department’s Special Investigation Unit, which includes over 20 Gardaí on secondment to the Department."
The statement adds: "As the industry re-opens the Department’s inspectors will be conducting control reviews and matching records against employer payroll data from the Revenue Commissioners to help ensure people close their claim as they return to work. To avoid incurring an overpayment people returning to work should close their claim and can do so easily at www.MyWelfare.ie ."
This week saw a decrease of 24,250 people claiming the payment compared to last week. The number of people in receipt of the PUP is now at its lowest since December 2020.
