The Chief Medical Officer has claimed that we are now seeing "unprecedented" levels of community transmission of coronavirus in Ireland.
A staggering update from NPHET's modelling group showed that Ireland's R number could now be as high as 3, according to the latest analysis.
While Dr Tony Holohan also said that he would "welcome" any measures that would help reduce the consumption of alcohol.
It comes after a further 6,521 new cases of Covid-19 were reported across Ireland this evening, as a devastating third wave continues.
And in a press briefing this evening, the Chief Medical Officer admitted that alcohol has helped play a role in the spread of Covid-19.
On whether off-licence opening hours should be cut, Dr Holohan said: "This virus loves alcohol. That is a concern to us in the way in which we consume alcohol and the pattern of use of alcohol in this country is a challenge.
"Any measures that would help in terms of the reduction of our consumption of alcohol in the context of this infection would be very, very welcome.
"Anything that can be done to address the role alcohol may be playing in terms of creating the social opportunities, the dropping of the guard that we all need to keep up, anything to address that would be welcome."
Dr Holohan also maintained that while schools are "safe environments", the level of movement that would be required to open them was currently too great of a risk.
He added: "It's our view that while the experience from September to December demonstrated that schools in themselves are a safe environment, the current epidemiological situation has deteriorated to a point where the significant levels of mobility and linked activity that a full reopening of schools would generate constitutes a very significant additional risk in the context of what are already seeing, as Professor Nolan has said, unprecedented levels of disease transmission in the community."
