Ireland is set to receive another 100,000 Covid vaccines from AstraZeneca in the next two months.
The news comes as a welcome boost after it emerged we would receive half of the original 600,000 jabs allocated to the country.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, announced on Sunday that the EU would receive nine million new doses in the first quarter of the year.
This represents around 99,000 jabs for Ireland.
Announcing the new agreement with the medical giant on Twitter, she said: "Step forward on vaccines.
"AstraZeneca will deliver 9 million additional doses in the first quarter (40 million in total) compared to last week’s offer & will start deliveries one week earlier than scheduled.
"The company will also expand its manufacturing capacity in Europe."
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said that the deal "represents progress" and will lead to "more vaccines for Ireland" in the coming months.
It comes after a Red C poll for the Sunday Business Post revealed that 85% of Irish people are willing to take a jab, once they've been proven to be "safe and effective".
It also showed that 86% of the public want a 14-day quarantine period in a hotel at their own expense for travellers arriving into Ireland.
