Paschal Donohoe has insisted there is not enough evidence of a long-term drop in Covid-19 transmission for Ireland to exit Level Five early.
The Finance Minister today hailed new data that shows Ireland's R number has dropped below 1, two weeks after the introduction of Level Five restrictions moved Ireland into lockdown.
But in a blow to businesses and households around the country – many of whom are hoping the spread of the virus drops enough to allow for an early exit from Level Five – he said the Government hasn't seen enough evidence of a stabilisation to make a call on the issue.
The Fine Gael TD said the Government will need to see the virus continue to stabilise "at a low level of transmission" before making a decision on whether to leave Level Five before December 1.
"Before I reach a view on that, and before Cabinet reaches a decision on it, we would need to see the spread of Covid-19 within our country at a low rate for a more sustained period of time," he told Claire Byrne on RTE.
"I of course do want to see us at a position where we have far more of our businesses open, trading more normally than is the case now," Mr Donohoe said, adding: "I'm deeply aware of the personal, economic and social cost of where we are now."
But he hailed the impact of Level Five on the spread of the virus across Ireland, and pointed out that several other European countries – including France, Germany and the UK – "have now moved to their equivalent of Level Five".
"It was something we did want to avoid – we did want to see what could be the effect of Level Three on our public health," Mr Donohoe said of the current stringent regulations, which have shut businesses around the country and kept people at home for another lockdown.
"But the fact that so many other countries have now moved to their equivalent of Level Five, and the fact that the Level Five guidance I think is beginning to have an impact on the spread of the disease, does show the importance of the move."
