There have been 3,726 further cases of Covid-19 confirmed in Ireland this evening by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).
The Department of Health says there are now 493 people in hospital, with 90 of those in ICU.
The 14-day incidence stands at 695 per 100,000, an increase of 18% on last week.
Speaking earlier in the Dail, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly indicated that over 3,700 Covid-19 cases were expected to be announced on Tuesday.
He made the comment as he branded TDs “reckless” for opposing the extension of emergency Covid-19 legislation until February 9, 2022.
Legislation around the mandatory wearing of face masks, vaccine passes, enforcement powers and fixed penalty notices was due to expire next week.
But the Government is proposing to keep the rules in place until February 9, 2022.
Sinn Fein’s health spokesman David Cullinane said the rules were rightly seen as draconian when the measures were first introduced and the time had come for them to be no longer necessary.
Independent TD Verona Murphy said it was “stupidity” that an unvaccinated person can attend a wedding without a vaccine cert but can’t eat inside a restaurant the following day.
She said some people genuinely can’t get vaccinated and they are being “labelled as the unvaccinated” and that over 90% people in Ireland are fully vaccinated now.
Minister Donnelly pleaded with the Dáil for TDs to vote in favour of rolling over the legislation for another three months.
He added that the country has to be “concerned that things will deteriorate further.”
It comes as Tanáiste Leo Varadkar has said he expects Covid-19 booster jabs to be extended “more widely” following the approval of booster shots to healthcare workers.
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Micheal Martin refused to rule out the return of some restrictions as Ireland's Covid cases continue to rise.
The Fianna Fail leader said current case numbers are a major concern but are in line with what experts had predicted.
Speaking to RTE's Morning Ireland, Mr Martin said: "There are no guarantees in relation to Covid-19.
"The modelling we received from NPHET was looking at a situation peaking towards the end of November."But it is very concerning, the high rise of cases."
The Taoiseach said that he had been talking to the Prime Minister of Israel during the COP26 conference who ensured him the "booster vaccine had been very effective."
Mr Martin added: "We've learned from Covid-19...we have to take it very seriously, the vaccines work, we are in a very different place from where we were last year."
Meanwhile, NIAC has recommended that a booster dose of an mRNA vaccine be offered to all frontline healthcare workers who have completed their primary course with any Covid-19 vaccine.
As with other cohorts, the booster dose will be given six months (with a minimum interval of five months) following completion of the primary vaccination schedule.
