The R rate measures how many people a person with Covid-19 infects on average, with an R rate below zero meaning the virus is being suppressed.
Ms Donnelly said that he was told on Friday morning that the likely R rate figure is 1.1 and that it has "come back down in the last 10 days”, as reported in The Irish Times.
This follows data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) which showed Clare and Offaly have recorded no new cases of Covid-19 for five weeks in a row.
12 counties have had less than 10 cases for at least nine consecutive weeks and the total number of cases reported last week dropped by 27%.
HSE Chief Clinical Officer, Dr Colm Henry also praised the low levels of people testing positive with the virus, as the positivity rate among people tested is now at 0.2%.
Despite the improvement, Mr Donnelly said in a statement to the Dáil that Ireland is going to see a second surge of the virus.
Mr Donnelly said the stabilisation in the R rate “is linked to renewed efforts from the public from around two weeks ago”, adding that public health officials were saying there will be a second wave.
“We’re hoping it will be low. We’re hoping it might be localised geographically but we have to be prepared within particular communities, particular counties, particular cities, for the prevalence rate to go up,” said Mr Donnelly.
