An expert in immunology has said she supports the easing of Covid-19 restrictions but has urged people to remain vigilant.
Christine Loscher, Professor of Immunology at Dublin City University, told RTÉ News that all of the key virus indicators are "in a much better position with Omicron than they would have been with Delta at this level of cases".
As a result, she said the positive vibes coming from Government and the potential easing of restrictions are "well justified".
"I would be very supportive of the easing of restrictions because I think the information and the numbers we have at the moment support that. I think we need to remain vigilant in terms of our vaccination and booster programme and mask wearing."
Professor Loscher said: "Now is certainly the time to row back" on the additional restrictions put in place in December.
Tonight, the National Public Health Emergency Team gave the green light to ending most Covid-19 public health restrictions.
It is understood that only mask wearing, Covid passes for international travel and isolation when symptomatic are to remain in place.
Government is tomorrow set to announce a timetable for when restrictions will be lifted.
Meanwhile, a specialist in infectious diseases has said the easing of Covid-19 restrictions is "completely" the right decision and he said "everything seems to be moving in the right direction".
Professor Paddy Mallon, a Consultant in Infectious Diseases at St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin, said there is "very little justification for continuing" the measures at this stage, given the rapid decline in cases.
"There is definitely very little reason that I can see at the moment to continue the level of restrictions we have at the moment, given the fact that all of the numbers are improving.
"We didn't see the translation of high community numbers into a flood of cases into our intensive care units, which is the fear, and that's all really good news."
Mr Mallon, who is also a Professor of Microbial Diseases in the UCD School of Medicine, said if there is "a disconnect between community cases and ICU admissions, then you have to question what benefit the ongoing restrictions would provide".
He told RTÉ News the country had "prepared really well" in terms of the vaccination campaign, which he said has translated into less severe cases landing into hospital, particularly due to the booster rollout.
"We need to be responsive to that. If we know that our strategy from a vaccination perspective has protected our ICU capacity, then we need to move on and we need to give people their lives and their livelihoods back."
Covid-19 'still has some way to play globally'
However, Professor Mallon warned that the virus "still has some way to play globally".
"While we are seeing really encouraging signs, and hopefully that will translate into lifting of restrictions rapidly within Ireland, we still need to be vigilant and we still need to be horizon scanning around the world to see what's coming."
He also said he is "not a fan of restrictions as a means to limit an infectious disease as a long-term plan."
"I think what we do need to do, and I say this every time we come out of a set of restrictions, is to learn from what we have done, what has worked and what hasn't worked.
"We have to prepare for an infection that isn't going away anytime soon," he added.
Prof Mallon warned that: "We do need to use these downtimes between waves to give people their lives back and their livelihoods back but also as a society to prepare ourselves better, so that we don't need to be going into restrictions mode or there is less need for restrictions if another wave comes along."
