The Taoiseach has said that Ireland will see a "phased reopening" whenever Level Five restrictions begin to ease.
If the Government decides to ease measures on March 5, it has been made clear that most of society will likely remain closed.
Speaking to RTE’s This Week, Micheal Martin remained mostly tight-lipped, but did give some indications as to when life will return to normal.
Construction will be back first, but bad news looms for pubs, restaurants and non-essential retail outlets.
Here's everything we learned today:
Non-essential retail could stay closed after March 5
Mr Martin confirmed that he “does not see a major reopening of the economy on March 5,” meaning that even many shops will also remain closed.
He said the Government will take a “conservative and cautious” approach over the loosening of lockdown restrictions.
Pubs could stay shut for months
The hospitality sector can't reopen until vaccinations had been ramped up, according to Mr Martin.
He said that “a critical mass” of the population would be vaccinated by late summer.
This could mean that the country’s bars and restaurants will have to remain closed until at least August or September.
He said: “I am very conscious that we have a vaccination programme rolling and parallel to that we need to get the numbers down in ICUs. We need to be cautious and we need to be conservative in what we do on the fifth of March.
“I think hospitality, overall, will have to wait longer and it will have to wait for an increased roll out of the vaccination programme.”
When asked when the hotels, pubs and restaurants might reopen, Mr Martin refused to be pinned to a date.
He added: “I am not giving a date on it. When I say hospitality, we are not looking at it as one entirity. There can be different approaches taken.”
Construction to return soon
The Taoiseach said the construction sector would reopen as soon as Covid-19 cases drop below 1,000 a day.
No Leaving Cert decision made
A decision on whether the Leaving Certificate can go ahead awaits, with Mr Martin saying “there may be news this week” about the options available.
He added: “I do get the point that Leaving Certificate students do not have classroom time – that is a very important consideration in terms of the options.”
No sign of stepping down
On a more personal note, Micheal Martin said he intends to lead Fianna Fail into the next General Election has had no ambitions to retire.
He added that he does not see a challenge to his leadership when his term as Taoiseach finishes at the end of next year.
