Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said the latest figures for coronvirus cases has been artificially low due to fewer tests being carried out on Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day.
Addressing concerns that the latest restrictions will not bring the reproduction rate (R rate) under one, the Tanaiste said "honestly we will not know until the restrictions come in".
He added: "No matter what is done, we would expect to see cases rise until the New Year." The roll out of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine is set to begin tomorrow.
Asked on RTÉ's Morning Ireland if the start of the Covid-19 vaccination roll out marks the beginning of the end of the pandemic, Mr Varadkar said "I believe it does". Latest coronavirus stories He said the roll out of the vaccine,
Read more on rte.ie