The Government won’t “abandon” plans to remove restrictions on October 22 but some rules will likely remain, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has indicated.
Minister Coveney has said there has been a 12% increase in the number of people testing positive for Covid-19 in the past week.
NPHET has sent early warnings to the Government that they are “concerned” about the recent trajectory of the disease.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said the situation “has taken a turn for the negative in the last week” and urged the public “to get back to the basics.”
But Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn has said 370,000 people who have not been fully jabbed are causing problems for the health service.
Speaking in Cork on Friday, Minister Coveney said the question for the Government now is to decide how far they can go with lifting final restrictions.
Speaking to RTÉ, Minister Coveney said: "I think the likelihood is that there will be a significant removal of restrictions at the end of next week, but whether we will be able to go as far as we would have liked or as far as we had announced would be the case remains to be seen.
“I don't think the Government will abandon plans to remove restrictions at the end of next week, but whether or not we are able to [relax restrictions] as much as we would have liked is the question, and we are watching very closely the number of people in hospital, the pressure on the health system and, of course, the continuing presence of Covid across society.
"We have seen a 12% increase in the number of people testing positive in the last week - of course that is a concern.
“It's not a big surprise, but it's something we need to watch.
"The Government will do what we always do when we make a decision in relation to Covid.
“We will take public health advice, we will look at the science and we will make an informed decision.”
Government sources have said they will consider whether to keep using vaccine certs for bars and cafes in place despite plans for them to be dropped on October 22.
However, a decision has to be made on whether they could be used to permit the reopening of nightclubs.
Speaking to the Irish Mirror on Thursday, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said it was “too early to say” if nightclubs could reopen as planned on October 22.
The Government was also hoping to drop the legal requirement for social distancing and the mandatory use of face masks.
But a senior source has indicated these two measures may also be extended.
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