The HSE says 4,500 people will be tested every day from next week as part of efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19.
That's up from an average of 1,500 this week.
At a press briefing today, the CEO of the HSE, Paul Reid, said that steps have been taken to strengthen the capacity of laboratories.
He admitted that some community test centres had to be scaled back last week.
The 4,500 Covid-19 tests per day will be dependent on the availability of the testing reagent.
Meanwhile, the Executive says 20 per cent of personal protective equipment that's arrived in Ireland so far is not suitable for general healthcare use.
Millions of euro worth of PPE has already been flown here from China for use by medical staff.
But the HSE says a fifth of it, mainly masks, doesn't meet their requirements.
It insists some of the equipment could be used for other purposes, such as in isolation facilities.
