Cate McCurry, PA
The Taoiseach has said no firm decisions have been made over which restrictions can be lifted beyond next month.
Micheál Martin would not confirm that next week’s announcements on easing Covid-19 measures would include plans for June and July.
The Fianna Fáil leader said that decisions would be taken step by step.
Speaking outside Leinster House, Mr Martin said that indicative dates for June may be given for hospitality, including the reopening of hotels and guesthouses.
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“We will make a final decision in relation to that – we’ve given some indications around June already for one aspect of the hospitality – the hotels, guesthouses – nothing certain has been decided in relation to that and we will assess that in consultation with the public health authorities,” Mr Martin added.
He also said that foreign travel will not feature in next week’s long-awaited announcement.
“Foreign travel won’t be part of that because at this point in time we need to get the virus down, we are concerned about variants.
“The EU is looking at a green cert idea, but in the first instance it’s to get interoperability from all member states from a technical perspective.
“The challenge facing us now is to work in consultation with our health authorities and get their advice in respect for the month of May.
“I have indicated the areas we are going to examine, personal services like hairdressing.
“Hairdressers and barbers have suffered a lot, retail has suffered a lot too. We have to look to what we can do in May for those sectors, but we are conscious the numbers have to be kept down.
“I think we are in a good space, we’re in a much better space than we thought we would be, and that will help us in making decisions for May and for June.”
Meanwhile, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said cases have been levelling out, and in some areas have been increasing slightly.
“That’s not unexpected. There has been a lot of extra movement in the last week or two – everyone going back to school and the 5km rule being dropped,” the Fine Gael leader added.
“We are now seeing evidence of cases starting to rise again.
“We have had some unwelcome news in the last couple of days around AstraZeneca vaccines once again, so I would offer caution as well as hope.”
The Government will meet next week to discuss advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) after which the Cabinet is expected to sign off on restrictions which can be lifted in May.
It is set to include the phased reopening of personal services like hairdressing, non-essential retail, as well as more outdoor activities and the full reopening of construction.
“I don’t think it will be much more than that,” Mr Varadkar added.
The Government has set a target to have 82 per cent of all adults either fully vaccinated or offered their first vaccine by the end of June.
Mr Varadkar warned that the target is dependent on vaccine supplies.
“It’s topsy-turvy when it comes to supplies. There is a problem with one supply, then you get good news then you get bad news and that’s still happening.
“Even in the last day or two, further bad news in relation to AstraZeneca,” he added.
