Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has said that the Government did follow advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) on measures for cocooners.
It comes after reports by some media at the weekend that the Cabinet had overruled official advice from the NPHET on over-70s cocooning until later this summer.
Speaking at the Department of Health this evening, Dr Holohan said: "As far as I'm concerned, I haven’t come across any tension."
"We recommended that we would ease the measures in respect of cocooners, as and from today.
"That's the advice we gave to Government and that’s what’s happening," he said.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan says the NPHET advised the Government to allow those who are cocooning to go outside for a walk from today. | Follow live coronavirus updates: https://t.co/XmeZjXTQyj pic.twitter.com/zq3bgFkYCk
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) May 5, 2020
Earlier today, the Tánaiste said the relationship between the Government and the NPHET is "a fantastic one".
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Sean O'Rourke, Simon Coveney said there was complete trust between the Government and Dr Holohan and his team.
Mr Coveney said that all decisions on dealing with Covid-19 have been based on the advice of public health, and that thousands of lives have been saved by following this advice and expertise.
When asked if NPHET advised not allowing people cocooning to leave their homes until August, Mr Coveney said: "No, that wasn't the advice."
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan says there has been no tension betweenv the NPHET and the Cabinet. | Follow live coronavirus updates: https://t.co/XmeZjXTQyj pic.twitter.com/ZX4SFOcs3I
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) May 5, 2020
He said there was a conversation about how to take into account the mental health and stress that many people have been experiencing, having been "effectively locked into their own homes for weeks now" and how to balance that with "the obligation to try to keep them as safe as possible in the context of the spread of this virus".
"What we came up with, collectively, was that we would allow limited opportunity for exercise outside of the home for people over the age of 70, which is being announced today."
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He added that this does not mean that recommendations and decisions are not debated.
Mr Coveney said there was a plan and a template, but that could change, depending on how the virus behaves.
As a country, he said, Ireland has done a remarkable job of flattening the curve, despite the tragedy experienced by so many families.
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He said there would be interaction with all sectors in order to help them adapt businesses to a new normal.
The Tánaiste said a step-by-step cautious approach was needed to ease restrictions and he believed that, in time, this will prove to be the right approach.
Mr Coveney said a "heads up" was given to Northern Ireland's First Minister Arlene Foster, Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Health Minister Robin Swann the night before the road map to easing restrictions was announced.
He said Minister for Health Simon Harris and his counterpart, Mr Swann, have a close relationship and that there is frequent communication between Dr Tony Holohan and his counterpart in Northern Ireland Dr Michael McBride.
Mr Coveney said Northern Ireland and the Republic are working towards an "in-sync" approach, as both sides move towards some kind of new normalcy.
However, Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill said details of the Republic's exit strategy were not shared with leaders in the North.
She criticised the Taoiseach and his Cabinet colleagues for not sharing details of their exit strategy with herself, as Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister, and with Northern Ireland's First Minister, the DUP leader, Arlene Foster in advance of its publication last Friday.
She said "I think it is unfortunate that he chose to not share that detailed information...that would have been the natural and helpful thing to do as we work our way through this.
"This disease in moving across Ireland in the same way and we need to tackle on an all-island basis."
Ms O'Neill wants the Northern Ireland Executive to publish its plans for emerging from pandemic-related restrictions on Thursday.
Speaking to RTÉ News, she said the five-party administration should not have to wait until the blueprint from the British government emerges but should instead make public its own tailor-made blueprint later this week.
Ms Foster said alignment with the plan published by the authorities in Dublin last Friday should be a significant consideration.
Ms O'Neill said: "We live on an island. It is a geographical advantage and we need to come out of the exit in a joined-up, coherent way."
Members of the five-party Executive began detailed discussions yesterday about the range of initiatives they plan to take in the coming days.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's administration had indicated it may publish its plans in London at the weekend.
23 more deaths from Covid-19 in Republic
23 more people have died from Covid-19 in Ireland bringing the overall death toll to 1,339.
211 more cases of the coronavirus have also been diagnosed in the Republic, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 21,983.
In Northern Ireland, a further 17 people have died from Covid-19, bringing the total number of deaths in hospitals there to 404.
There was also 45 new cases of people testing positive for Covid-19. 3,881 people have now tested positive for the coronavirus in the region.
Meanwhile, the president of the Intensive Care Society of Ireland has said that plans are in place to get urgent non-Covid-19 procedures under way this week, with cancer screening and treatments the priority.
Dr Catherine Motherway, who is a consultant anaesthesiologist at University Hospital Limerick (UHL), told RTÉ's Morning Ireland that 94 patients remain in ICU with Covid-19 and while there still is a significant disease burden in the intensive care units, it is coming down.
She said the Irish population, by complying very well with the restrictions, has averted what we have seen in other countries and we have been very successful in "controlling the surge".
Dr Motherway said cough etiquette, frequent hand hygiene and physical distancing must remain the cornerstones of how we open up society and keep the virus down.
She said life is going to be different for some time and hospitals will continue to have different streams for elective work and non-elective work in future.
Dr Motherway said UHL and some other hospitals have been continuing emergency work and some urgent cancer work in private hospitals and this is now beginning to open up again.
She said health staff are working in Personal Protective Equipment and this will make the process slower and less efficient.
She said that the Health Service Executive is continuing to plan for this.
Dr Motherway said that staff sickness has put some pressure on hospitals and the availability of PPE remains a continuing worry "for all of us ... all the time".
To protect yourself from Covid-19 you should:
- Keep a space of 2 metres (6.5 feet) between you and other people
- Avoid communal sleeping areas
- Avoid any crowded places
- Not shake hands or make close contact with other people, if possible
Additional reporting: Fergal Bowers, Tommie Gorman
