A further four deaths and 420 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the Republic.
Of the deaths reported today, all occurred in April.
Of the new cases, 74 per cent are under 45 years of age and the median age is 32 years old.
There were 183 Covid-19 patients hospitalised as of this morning, with 50 in intensive care.
Meanwhile, two further deaths linked to Covid-19 and 99 new cases were confirmed in Northern Ireland on Saturday.
A total of 796 people tested positive for the virus in the region over the past seven days, while 70 people are currently hospitalised.
Approaching 60 per cent of the region’s adult population have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, compared to just over 20 per cent of the Republic's adult population.
Vaccinations have been extended to people aged 40 to 44 in Northern Ireland.
In the Republic, senior HSE officials have cautioned against changing the State’s vaccine priority list after the Minister for Health said consideration was being given to vaccinating people aged 18-30 ahead of older cohorts.
The change would be made in order to reduce the spread of coronavirus ahead of the wider reopening of society, as some senior officials fear a spike in cases among younger people who are more likely to socialise together in large numbers.
HSE chief executive Paul Reid has said he was unaware of any proposal to change the vaccination priority list and stressed that the health service was continuing to work on the list that focuses on older cohorts and medically vulnerable groups.
He said that if the Government changed tack, then the HSE would change its plans accordingly but added that “all the medical and scientific advice… is to administer it based on age”.
We've now administered almost 1.2M #CovidVaccine with 22% of the eligible population having had a 1st dose. The real measures of sickness, hospitalisations, ICU & mortality all radically reduced. Next week we commence those aged 65-69 @HSELive
— Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) April 17, 2021
It comes as Ireland set a new daily record for Covid-19 vaccinations, with almost 1.2 million vaccine doses now administered.
More than 814,000 people in the Republic have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to the HSE, after a daily record of 33,386 doses were administered on Thursday.
Mr Reid said the number of people falling ill and dying with Covid-19 has been “radically reduced” as the vaccine programme ramps up.
“The real measures of sickness, hospitalisations, ICU and mortality all radically reduced,” he said in a tweet.
