Ireland's summer reopening will be 'beyond expectations' as unprecedented restrictions lift to be announced today

Stephen Donnelly has promised an unprecedented lifting of restrictions for the summer.

He said that the Government is set to approve reopening at “a pace beyond expectations.”

And the Minister for Health said this will all be down to the public’s “fantastic” adherence to public health guidelines - and the success of the vaccine rollout programme.

Mr Donnelly was speaking on his way into this afternoon’s crunch Cabinet meeting in Dublin Castle.

The Government is meeting to sign-off on the next phase of transition out of lockdown, which this time focuses on getting hospitality, travel, entertainment and sport reopened.

It was agreed at a Cabinet subcommittee meeting of senior ministers last night that early July, probably July 5th, will see pubs allowed open again indoors for the first time this year.

And it’s anticipated that the skies will reopen for international travel before the end of July, most likely July 19th.

This will allow sunseekers jet away for a long needed break, and it will open up our unrivalled tourist attractions here to international visitors.

Mr Donnelly said: “I think that if Cabinet agree today broadly to the proposals (from last night’s Cabinet subcommittee meeting) we are opening at a pace that is beyond most people’s expectations.

“Why are we able to do that, why is NPHET recommending that we can do that?

“It’s really because the public health measures we have in place have worked, are working, and that’s only because people are still sticking with them.

“You can see it when you walk around Dublin that people really are sticking with the measures, they’re still being very, very careful, which is very encouraging.

“And then because of the vaccine programme.

“The latest data we have from the taskforce on the uptake of the vaccine for the different age cohorts as we move through them is really, really encouraging.

“We’re seeing uptake rates in the older cohorts of 97%, 98%, and then as we move down to the 60s, the 50s, to the 40s, again, we’re seeing a big, big demand for these vaccines.

“So first of all, people are taking the vaccines, which is fantastic, and secondly, the level of impact from them is astonishing.”