Ireland's exit from lockdown will be "gradual", the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has warned.
The country is facing lockdown restrictions for another nine weeks, as revealed by the Irish Mirror on Thursday night.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin said that "severe" lockdown measures will be in place until the end of April.
Paschal Donohoe added that, while the plan is at the early stages, the country is still grappling with high numbers of people in intensive care and hospitals.
Mr Martin told the Irish Mirror in an exclusive interview that the reopening of pubs restaurants, as well as hairdressers, may be pushed further into the year.
The Taoiseach also warned that there will be few changes when the Government announces the revised Living With Covid-19 plan next week.
Mr Donohoe today said the Government's plan to exit the restrictions will be gradual.
"Our focus, for now, is how we can get most of our schools full again of young girls and boys getting the education they need and deserve," Mr Donohoe said.
"What the Government is, only at this stage considering, is what that exit path is.
"I am so aware of the challenges that so many face at the moment, both socially and from a mental health point of view, and economically.
"The Government is also grappling with very high numbers of people who are still in our intensive care and is still in our hospitals.
"This is why the vaccination programme that we have on the way is so critical, we are just over 50 days into the vaccination programme.
"We have 6,000 trained vaccinators with ten of thousands of successful vaccinations complete."
He said there is the potential for a significant increase in supply in April, May and June.
Mr Donohoe said it would make a difference to the public health service.
"But we still do need to be careful, we saw what happened in January," he warned.
"The possibility of further ways of this disease, driven by how the disease is mutating, means that the threat to our public health is still there.
"I know how difficult these words are but our priority continues to be what we can do to protect the health of our country."
Sinn Fein's Pearse Doherty said his party will back the public health advice.
