Taoiseach Micheál Martin will meet with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan today for crunch talks ahead of Level Five restrictions lifting for December.
It’s expected the country will move to Level Three come December 1 which would see the reopening of all non-essential retails.
But the government is expected to loosen Covid-19 restrictions again closer to Christmas to allow travel within the country so families can be together in the days leading up to the festive day.
However, Cabinet faces an intense week to finalise its plans for December for the hospitality sector and whether wet pubs will be allowed to reopen.
NPHET is said to be concerned about the reopening of the hospitality sector and the pressing point for the government is whether they should allow indoor dining for restaurants.
Dr Clíona Ní Cheallaigh, a consultant in infectious diseases at St James's Hospital in Dublin told RTE that despite the best efforts of restaurants to operate safely, she said she "cannot see it being safe in December.”
However, hospitality chiefs have said they are capable of providing a controlled and safe environment.
Government TDs are divided over whether wet pubs should be allowed to reopen their doors.
CEO of the Vintners' Federation of Ireland, Padraig Cribben said pubs should be allowed to reopen to allow people to socialise in controlled settings.
He told RTE that it’s important that the government make the decision and not NPHET - who have already heavily indicated that it will be advising against pubs reopening.
Cabinet will meet tomorrow where the exit strategy of Level Five will be debated which will be followed by a Cabinet subcommittee.
NPHET members including CMO Dr Tony Holohan are expected to attend while a second Cabinet meeting is expected to meet towards the end of this week to sign off on the final plan with an announcement expected on Thursday or Friday evening.
