There will be 16 new additions to the mandatory hotel quarantine list from today.
People arriving from the United States, Canada and France will now have to stay in a quarantine hotel for 12 nights after arriving into the State.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has defended Ireland's hotel quarantine system, saying it is necessary to keep out variants of concern.
The Minister told RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show that he had spoken to his brother Patrick, chief executive of Greencore, who recently criticised mandatory hotel quarantine in a tweet.
Ireland remains on track to meet its target of easing restrictions in May and giving four out of five people their first vaccine dose by June, the Government has said.
The Taoiseach and Tánaiste moved to reassure the public after a double setback to the vaccine rollout earlier this week was tempered by news of around 550,000 extra doses of the Pfizer jab to be delivered in quarter two this year.
Following the news of accelerated Pfizer deliveries, Taoiseach Micheál Martin told RTÉ: “The commission’s announcement in terms of securing the additional doses puts the programme on track in terms of the key targets.”
He added that the Government would still be examining reduced measures for other sectors of society towards the end of April.
An online registration system for Covid-19 vaccinations for people aged between 65 and 69 opened this morning.
People in this age bracket can register online using their PPS number and Eircode.
Meanwhile, the winning Quick Pick ticket of last night’s €12,740,043 Lotto jackpot was bought in a Kilkenny store, the National Lottery has confirmed.
The ticket holder, who has yet to make contact with the National Lottery to claim their prize, has officially becomes the 12th largest Lotto jackpot winner in the history of the game.
Finally, a living wage could be introduced by 2025 under plans launched by the Government today.
The Low Pay Commission has formally begun work on examining how Ireland can move towards a living wage, after the Government committed to progressing to the wage over its lifetime.
