01/04/2023

The leaders of the three coalition parties along with the Ministers for Health, Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, are to meet later today to discuss a recommendation to move to level five of Covid-19 restrictions.

The leaders of the three coalition parties along with the Ministers for Health, Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, are to meet later today to discuss a recommendation to move to level five of Covid-19 restrictions.
Any decision would require a meeting of the wider cabinet, but so far no such meeting is planned for this weekend.
The Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, who travelled back from Brussels last night, has said that the  situation is very serious and that further action will be needed.
Level 5 restrictions could leave up to 600,000 people once again reliant on the PUP support, and businesses unable to sustain further closures.
There are societal considerations too, and the Government would have to decide whether there could be tweaks to level five. This could include, for example, limits on the movements of over 70s or that limits on travelling more than five kilometres outside of your home could be altered. 
Level five does allow for schools to close but the view in government is that this would NOT happen, but there may be a need for engagement with teacher unions
If a decision is made to enter level five there is a question of whether this should last for the full six weeks as advised by NPHET, or whether a shorter period would be more likely to secure public buy in.
With all of these considerations a decision may not be immediate.
But it is certainly one that isn’t being taken lightly.