Pubs and restaurants are to close at 8pm under plans agreed by Cabinet.
Ministers have pushed back at NPHET’s 5pm closing time after public and political backlash.
The Irish Mirror understands that pubs and restaurants are likely now to close at 8pm from next Monday.
It comes after NPHET now says 35% of confirmed cases here are now the Omicron variant.
In a briefing with journalists, NPHET members have said Omicron is spreading between 2-4 times faster than the Delta variant.
Professor Philip Nolan has said between 650 and 1,000 people could end up in hospital in January at the peak in NPHET’s most optimistic scenario.
In their most pessimistic situation, NPHET has said up to 2,000 could be in hospital at the peak in January.
Up to 20,000 Covid-19 cases per day could occur in the coming weeks if social mixing continues at current levels.
NPHET have confirmed 3,628 cases of Covid-19 on Friday and 420 patients are in hospital.
There are 105 people in ICU.
Reacting to the 8pm curfew, Dr Holohan said the key in making recommendations is to "drive down" transmission.
