Taoiseach Micheál Martin has confirmed that Level 5 restrictions will continue until the 5th of March.
Ireland will ease restrictions very gradually similar to its exit from an initial lockdown last year if it can suppress COVID-19 again.
Mr Martin said this morning on his way into cabinet: "As has been flagged the restrictions will continue to the 5th of March."
He explained that even with restrictions extended there will still be a "significant number" of people in hospital at the end of February.
Martin added that "therefore that is the really clear and motivating factor".
COVID-19 cases have begun to fall sharply in Ireland after exploding at the fastest rate in Europe at the turn of the year, fuelled by a four-week relaxation of restrictions and increasing prevalence of a new, more transmissible variant first detected in England.
But with 766 COVID-19 infections per 100,000 people still recorded in the past 14 days, Martin and senior ministers will advise the Cabinet today to keep most shops, building sites and all hospitality closed until March 5.
What will happen with schools?
Schools will also remain shut for now ahead of a possible phased reopening during February and March if the total number of new cases continues to halve every 10 days.
What is Ireland's main objective?
Martin said the main goal is to ease the pressure on hospitals and intensive care units and to get the numbers of Covid-19 cases progressively down.
The Taoiseach says that we "obviously have to reduce transmission in the community".
He added: ""We need that to continue. People need to stay at home, and people need to collectively work as they have been to get the numbers down so that we can relieve the pressures on the hospitals."
What is happening with travel?
The Cabinet will also sign off on tougher travel curbs including "a travel ban" on arrivals from Brazil and South Africa, where other variants have been detected.
Mandatory hotel quarantine will be introduced for the first time in Ireland for anyone who "somehow" arrives from those two countries, as well as travellers from anywhere else who fail to present a negative test for COVID-19.
Speaking on the proposed mandatory quarantine measures, the Taoiseach told RTE: "Travellers are coming down very significantly. It's down to quite low levels now in the last weekend.
"The majority would appear to be Irish people who went to went on holidays during the Christmas period ... we need to clamp down on that.
"That is in itself a violation of the Level 5 regulations that we have in place.
"We will continue to monitor this will keep it under review with all the member states of the European Union."
