Tànaiste Leo Varadkar has said that some "modest easing" of the current lockdown restrictions will be introduced for April and May.
The Fine Gael leader said that the construction industry will be allowed to operate with more freedom, while an easing of the 5km travel restrictions is also expected to be announced.
During an interview with RTE News At One, Varadkar also spoke about vaccine targets being missed, supply issues and stated that the government are "not in control of production and delivery" of the vaccines.
"The vaccine programme is going as fast as it possibly can. As soon as the vaccine arrives, it's usually in people's arms within a week - sometimes three days," he said.
When asked about the easing of lockdown restrictions, Varadkar provided some hope for certain sectors.
"What we made very clear in the plan is that we would review the situation in the run-up to April 5. We said that the only kind of restrictions that we could see being eased in April would be construction, the 5km rule and allow some more activities outdoors.
"That remains the case. Even if the number of vaccines is slightly behind schedule, we're making very good progress in terms of suppressing the virus," he said.
Varadkar added that he believes the delay in vaccine supply will not prevent Ireland from easing restrictions and that "we only intended to do some very modest easing anyway."
When asked about the potential of shops like Penneys reopening, the Tànaiste said: "Click and collect is something that could be considered for April" and that "the reopening of non-essential stores is something that's further down the line."
