The vaccination of children under 12 will begin on 20 December starting with vulnerable cohorts, the Taoiseach has said.
Earlier today the HSE said that registration for the Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 will open shortly, with priority being placed on children who are more at risk from Covid-19.
Speaking on RTÉ's Six One, Micheál Martin said that vulnerable cohorts will begin receiving vaccines from next Monday, 20 December.
Mr Martin said that further cohort vaccinations in children will commence on 10 January.
The priority groups are children who have a health condition that puts them at higher risk of severe illness from Covid-19, or if they live with a child or an adult who has complex medical needs, or is immunocompromised.
Dr Lucy Jessop, Director of the National Immunisation Office, said: "For all other children in this age group, severe illness from Covid-19 is rare, but it can happen. The recommendation is that the benefits of vaccination are greater than the risks from the vaccine."
Children will be offered a smaller dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
The paediatric doses are a third of the quantity of the vaccine administered to people aged over 12, as recommended by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC).
NIAC advised that the vaccines should be given in a two-dose schedule, three weeks apart.
Around 480,000 primary school children will be offered the vaccine.
The HSE published guidance on Covid-19 vaccines for children on its website today.
The General Secretary of the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association, which represents nearly 3,000 primary schools, has said that while the Department of Education is "adamant" schools will not close early for Christmas, he expects some parents will decide themselves to withdraw their children from school from Friday.
Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime, Seamus Mulconry said the department is "not for turning on this one".
He said that at a local level, there have been demands for this by people across the country for some time, adding that when he spoke to department representatives today, they were "adamant it wasn't going to happen" and "adamant that the public health advice they received was that it should not happen".
Mr Mulconry said mitigation measures that worked very well last year were not as effective this year, and this, combined with a substitute teacher crisis and the imposition of face coverings, has made it "an extraordinarily challenging time" for everyone involved in education since September.
The Chief Executive of Parentline said parents are willing to accept earlier school closures for Christmas as a circuit breaker, if this would ensure they would reopen in January.
Speaking on the same programme, Aileen Hickey said parents are looking for clarity and certainty in relation to any potential school closures.
