A third lockdown of "enhanced restrictions" may be needed in January following Christmas celebrations, according to the Tánaiste.
Leo Varadkar has warned the Government must avoid the risk of a third wave of Covid-19 being caused by Christmas socialising.
Mr Varadkar said while restrictions should be eased next week, they should not go too far.
“I believe we should seek to ease restrictions next week, but not so much that it requires us to return to Level 4 or 5 for a prolonged period in the new year," he said.
"A short third period of enhanced restrictions may well be necessary in January or February, but we should try to avoid it being a prolonged one.”
Mr Varadkar added: “Our strategy of suppression is perhaps best described as one of delay and vaccinate and I do not believe we are too far away from seeing it succeed."
The Cabinet discussed its vaccine procurement strategy on Tuesday, while the Government’s new vaccination taskforce met for the first time on Monday.
Open discussion
Speaking in the Dáil ahead of a Government debate over an exit plan from current restrictions on Tuesday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he was “determined” to have an open discussion.
“I see this as an opportunity for deputies to contribute to discussions before key decisions are taken and to be able to give their perspectives on how we will move forward,” he said.
Mr Martin remarked upon Ireland’s progress in curbing the spread of the virus, saying it had the second lowest incidence of the virus in the European Union.
However, he warned a second wave was “not over by any means.”
As we look forward to the next stage, complacency will remain our enemy
“If there is one thing we know now, it is that taking the virus for granted is the foundation for its spread,” he said.
“As we look forward to the next stage, complacency will remain our enemy. We are not yet in a position to return to normality or close to normality.”
Mr Martin said there were some in the Republic who “prize a return to certain activities over the safety of society as a whole.”
However, he added there was “overwhelming evidence that the Irish people accept the need for vigilance, for personal responsibility and targeted restrictions.”
Travel
In his speech to the Dáil, Mr Varadkar also expressed concern about cross-Border travel, claiming there had been a “less intensive approach” to tackling the virus in Northern Ireland since the outset of the pandemic.
“The incidence of the virus in Northern Ireland is a multiple of what it is in this state and so is the mortality rate,” he said.
“Northern Ireland is a different jurisdiction and makes its own decisions under the Good Friday Agreement and we respect that.
“But we would be in denial not to recognise that the less intensive approach to the virus there, since the start, has its consequences.”
Cabinet Ministers will meet again on Thursday or Friday to finalise the plan for the next month, following a meeting with the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet).
Six further Covid-19 linked deaths were reported in Ireland on Tuesday, along with an additional 226 confirmed cases of the virus.
