The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, has said the Government is considering providing subsidised antigen tests to the population.
He also said it is likely that rapid antigen testing will be deployed to test the close contacts of schoolchildren who test positive for Covid-19.
This could be rolled out before Christmas, he told RTÉ's This Week.
Mr Donnelly said that schools remain lower risk environments but the Government and Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan are discussing this issue and he is keen to see this happen soon.
He also said that Ireland has signed up to a joint EU procurement process to access new anti-viral drugs for treating Covid-19
The minister said these new therapeutics "are going to play a very substantial role".
Mr Donnelly said that the authorisation process is continuing at the European Medicines Agency.
He said there has been a stabilisation in hospitalisations and ICU admissions over the past ten days and Ireland will get the current wave of Covid-19 under control.
He added that it is "very encouraging" to see hospital cases stabilise and a steady reduction in ICU numbers.
This was largely due to the impact of the booster vaccine programme and said "it's already working in the over 75s and we need it to work for everybody".
Mr Donnelly said there has been an increase in cases among those aged from 12 to the mid 30s and he urged this age group to limit discretionary social contacts.
He said: "The real risk is this reservoir of cases begin to infect older people which would drive more serious illness."
The minister said that it is a "very serious issue" that the number of hospitality outlets not checking Covid passes are increasing and warned that more urgent sanctions could follow.
He said the "large minority" in this sector who are not complying with public health laws "have very serious questions to answer".
He was speaking ahead of a meeting between industry representatives and Government officials on Tuesday.
He said the hospitality sector promised it could reopen safely and would comply with all public health advice and while the majority have, some are not.
The minister warned that if this continues, he would favour more rapid and targeted sanctions against individuals, not the industry at large.
"I'd like to see more checks and more rapid sanctions...for those not following the law."
Mr Donnelly said that there is evidence of cases falling among the over 85s over the past ten days.
He said this is as a result of behaviours and the impact of booster vaccines, with cases also flatlining among those aged 75-84, with no increase over this period.
Mr Donnelly said that people "are stepping up efforts" in the older age cohorts to keep themselves safe and he asked younger age groups to also do so.
He urged people to reduce discretionary social contacts and to be vaccinated if they are not already.
He said the Government is not considering any lockdown or increased restrictions over the winter.
Mr Donnelly said he could not predict what advice would be specific to Christmas parties in mid-December.
