New laws surrounding outdoor drinking will be brought to Cabinet next week.
The overarching legislation means that pubs won't be prosecuted for selling alcohol outside their premises by individual county bye-laws.
A spokesman for the Minister for Justice, Heather Humphreys, told the Irish Mirror last night: "The Department of Justice, in consultation with the Department of Housing and the Attorney General’s office, is working on how to provide clarity on the consumption of alcohol in designated areas outside licensed premises.
"It is anticipated that primary legislation will be required.
"Minister Humphreys has said the Government is determined to support pubs and restaurants as they re-open this summer.
"The Minister wants this issue to be dealt with as quickly as possible.
"She expects to bring proposals to Cabinet in the coming days, with required legislation potentially coming before the Oireachtas next week."
On Monday evening, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris issued an instruction to regional Assistant Commissioners that said Gardaí should use discretion in relation to licensed premises.
Following the recent confusion regarding the policing of the consumption of alcohol on the newly-created seating areas outside pubs and restaurants, the authorities released a statement which said: "Earlier today, Commissioner Harris issued an instruction to regional Assistant Commissioners that Gardaí should use discretion in relation to licensed premises while also continuing to respond to any public complaints received on matters such as public order, parking, noise etc."
Government Ministers have also confirmed the July reopening is on track despite concerns about the Delta variant in Ireland.
Indoor dining at pubs and restaurants is the big change set to come in early July with an official decision to be made on Thursday week.
And speaking to the Irish Mirror ahead of today's Cabinet meeting, Ireland's decision-makers confirmed that as it stands, the reopening plan will be going full steam ahead.
The Taoiseach said: “I think the situation has been positive certainly up to now in terms of the disease level and it has been declining over the last number of weeks.
Micheál Martin said it is “so far, so good” for the next phase of lockdown lifts amid Delta variant concerns
“And the most recent letter from NPHET confirms that, but of course the share of the incidence is changing.
“There is a significant increase in the incidence of the Delta variant as a share of the overall incidence of the virus.
“We will obviously keep this under close monitoring and we all need to be very vigilant.
“I think the vaccination programme is rolling out very well, I mean, 340,000 last week and the next week is going to be a big week for vaccination.
“So I’d appeal to people in terms of the second dose to make sure you take your second dose when offered, because that is important and I think we will take further advice, then next week from NPHET in relation to the Delta variant and in terms of the broader picture.”
The Taoiseach added: “I am saying that obviously that what is happening across Europe and in the UK we’ll be keeping a very close eye on the Delta variant.
“But so far, so good in terms of the reopening and so far, so good in terms of the fact that the virus and the incidence has decreased in the past number of weeks.”
Elsewhere, Leo Varadkar indicated that pubs and indoor dining are “still on track” to reopen in just under two weeks’ time
But the Tánaiste has also issued a reserved warning about the growing prevalence of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, saying there is “reason for concern,” but not for “panic.”
The Fine Gael leader said: "He said: “I think when it comes to the Delta variant, there is definitely reason for concern, not reason for panic at this stage.
“We’re still on track to ease restrictions further on the 5th of July, but we won’t be able to make a final decision on that until next Thursday, when we see more data and we have the most up-to-date advice from NPHET.”
