The final Covid-19 restrictions will begin to be eased next week, Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath confirmed today.
Throughout September and into October, restrictions will gradually be eased.
Next month, the Government plans on moving to the phase of "personal responsibility" rather than a one glove fits all approach.
Ministers are deciding today at a meeting of the Cabinet sub-committee what restrictions to start lifting first. A roadmap for easing restrictions will be published on Tuesday following that meeting.
Public Transport
What is confirmed to be lifting on Wednesday is the 75% capacity on all public transport, with a return to 100% for the first time since February 2020.
All services on Dublin Bus, DART, Luas and Bus Eireann will operate at full capacity.
Indoor Activities
Speaking outside Government buildings, Minister McGrath also commented on reopening indoor activities that have been closed "for so long now".
"We will certainly look to see what we can do by way of certain indoor activities that have been shut down for so long now," he said.
"A lot of children who don’t play field sports who might have lost out on dance classes, on gymnastics, on other activities indoor and indoor sports and we’d like to see them getting back as quickly as possible.
"You will see some early moves that will give some people a sense of the direction of travel."
The likes of arcades, bingo halls, and bowling alleys will be reopened in the coming weeks.
Hospitality Sector
There's massive pressure on the Government to ease the restrictions currently on the hospitality sector.
The current 11:30pm curfew may be scrapped with Minister Eamon Ryan claiming that a staggered closing time may be adopted so that everyone doesn't leave at the same time and cause massive traffic delays.
Indoor hospitality officials also want an end to only being allowed to serve fully vaccinated people indoors.
Live Entertainment
Minister Catherine Martin remains confident that the live entertainment sector will be able to return safely throughout September and October for fully vaccinated people.
This will be the first phase of reopening the sector.
Income Support
The wage subsidy scheme looks set to remain for the foreseeable future.
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