Tànaiste Leo Varadkar has said that "summer should be better" following the rollout of vaccines in Ireland.
Earlier this evening, the HSE confirmed that as of February 18, 326,475 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland
205,955 people have received their first dose, while 120,520 people have received their second dose.
Despite the amping up of the vaccine programme, the recent announcement by the Taoiseach that lockdown measures look set to be extended into April was a blow to many.
During an interview with the Irish Mirror, Mr Martin said: “We are looking at a continuation of severe restrictions, certainly right into April.”
And then he added: “Beyond Easter, we’ll look at it again but I think until the end of April you can look at significant restrictions, we’ll review it after that then because we have to see where we are.”
Earlier this evening, the Tànaiste posted the following message on Twitter: "I know we’re getting tired of lockdown but here’s a positive thought for the week ahead. Next week, for the first time, more than 100k people will receive a vaccine. Rampup continues. In April, it’ll be close to 250k a week. Vaccination works and will help us end pandemic. Summer should be better."
The government has consistently said that any reopening of the economy will be done in a slow and gradual manner.
During a recent interview on RTÉ's Raidió na Gaeltachta, Micheal Martin said that due to the high number of cases and concerns over variants, it would be a long time yet before hospitality reopens.
The Fianna Fail leader said: “We don’t foresee that ( reopening pubs etc ) before the middle of the summer ... what the public health authorities are saying is that we stick with this until end of April, then we reflect on the situation and make decisions about the months ahead.
“There won’t be much of a change ( after this phase ) because the numbers are still too high ... what we intend is to reopen schools gradually ... it will be slow, we’ll be cautious because we have to monitor the effect on the virus. The biggest challenge we face is new variants as they could impact the vaccines. It’s sensible to open slowly, as the vaccines are coming.”
