A proposal to close schools for the rest of January, due to rising Covid-19 infections, will be considered later this afternoon by the Government's Cabinet sub-committee on coronavirus.
The three Coalition leaders and at least five ministers will participate in today's deliberations. However, a final decision will only be taken at a full Cabinet meeting tomorrow.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan will be joined at today's meeting by the Ministers for Finance, Public Expenditure, Health, Justice and Education.
Up for consideration will be a proposal, first revealed by RTÉ News, to close schools until the end of the month, despite the coalition's long-held objective of keeping them open.