Cabinet is hoping to agree to a revised plan to reopen society and the economy by February 22, the Tanaiste has said.
The proposals would come into effect on March 5th at the earliest, and would be a revision to the existing Living with Covid-19 plan.
Leo Varadkar also said he favours taking a “two-island approach” to quarantine measures arising from international travel, by coordinating with the UK Government.
Mr Varadkar told a press conference on Tuesday: “Nobody can predict what’s going to happen in this pandemic.
“We do hope to see reopening of our society and economy through the spring and summer.
“But it’s without question that there will be certain sectors, you know, aviation, tourism, entertainment, events, that may not open fully for a very long time.”
The reopening of the construction sector is likely to go ahead on March 5, the Tanaiste has indicated.
It is hoped the measures can be agreed by Cabinet in the week of February 22th, coming into effect from March 5th.
But he stressed that Government will take a conservative approach, and that the wider reopening of society is entirely dependent on how the virus behaves between now and then.
“It’s important to say that the extent to which we can reopen, if at all, depends on what the picture looks like in a few weeks time” he said.
“It depends on the five and seven-day case average, it depends on the numbers continuing to fall in our ICUs, the number of people in hospital continuing to fall and the vaccine programme being rolled out.”
Mr Varadkar said he could not give a date for the reopening of personal services such as barbers and beauty salons, but said it would be “much later” than the reopening of construction on March 5.
Outdoor gatherings
However, he said he hoped that friends and families will be able to meet up outdoors from then.
He said: “I hope that after March 5th it will be possible for households, for friends and family to meet outdoors.
“That was part of the first reopening, if you remember back in May, you were able to meet with other households outdoors or in a garden.
“We know that this virus is nearly 20 times more likely to transmit indoors versus outdoors.
“So getting people outdoors will be the thing.”
The Tanaiste also said the Government is seeking to align with the UK on the issue of international travel.
On Tuesday, the UK government announced a raft of new measures, including a requirement for mandatory hotel quarantine for British and Irish residents returning to England from 33 “red list” countries.
Mr Varadkar said discussions are ongoing with the British government about taking a two-island approach.
