Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has confirmed he believes the National Public Health Emergency Team will make a recommendation advising people to wear "face coverings" not face masks in certain circumstances.
He told the Dáil he did not want to run into problems where there could be shortages for people most in need of face masks.
Mr Varadkar added there would need to be a public information campaign regarding their use.
Also speaking in the Dáil, Minister for Health Simon Harris said that the reproduction number is between 0.4 to 0.6, which he called a "remarkably stable number".
He said that 12,300 lives could have been lost by last week if the infection rate had continued.
Hospital admissions have fallen from 20 a day last week to the current daily rate of between ten and 15, he said.
Mr Harris said the country was moving to a new phase, but every movement carried increased risk.
He said every step must be taken carefully and unlocking a lockdown was fraught with danger and risk.
"We must now try to chart a path to a new normal. This will be a long road and the final destination is unknown," he said.
Mr Harris said the rollout of testing to nursing homes had been completed, so the focus now would move to other residential facilities.
On testing, he said improving turnaround time was now the absolute priority.
Earlier, the Taoiseach said he was increasingly confident about being able to move to Phase One of lifting the Covid-19 restrictions on Monday.
Mr Varadkar said that NPHET met today to conduct its assessment and Cabinet would make a decision tomorrow after it receives its advice.
In Phase One, up to four people who do not live together can meet outdoors while keeping at least 2 metres apart, while shops that are primarily outdoor, such as garden centres, hardware stores or farmers' markets, can reopen so long as social distancing measures can be put in place.
Mr Varadkar said that thanks to the majority of people following the guidelines we have slowed the virus.
The Taoiseach said the Government's mission is to get businesses open again and get the economy "humming" so we have the resources we need to build a better society.
He said four guiding principles will be followed - isolate, test, trace and treat - so we can quickly react if things go wrong and if there is an increase in cases.
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Taoiseach @LeoVaradkar says #Covid19 has hit our country very hard, but as we reopen we have the opportunity to reshape our society in ways that will benefit our citizens for years to come, with increased home working, online education, e-health, lower emissions and cleaner air. pic.twitter.com/LxTExyXStY
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) May 14, 2020
Mr Varadkar said the Health and Safety Authority would help businesses to achieve compliance in a co-operative manner, but will close workplaces if necessary.
He pointed out that we may see an increase in the reproductive rate of the virus as we ease restrictions.
The Taoiseach said after 18 May we must be more disciplined and act more responsibility than ever before when it comes to vital public health actions.
He said all people arriving in ports and airports must complete a public health passenger locator form and self-isolate for 14 days.
Mr Varadkar said we must remember that we have a land border with Northern Ireland that we want to keep open.
He said we also have a common travel area with the UK that we want to preserve and our right as Europeans citizens to travel anywhere in the EU that we want to uphold.
Mr Varadkar said it was their policy to resume normal travel as soon as it was safe to do so, but it would be months and not weeks before this was possible.
He said Covid-19 has hit Ireland very hard, but as we reopen we have the opportunity to reshape our society in ways that will benefit our citizens for years to come, with increased home working, online education, e-health, lower emissions and cleaner air.
Issue of face coverings must be addressed - Martin
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said the question of whether people should wear face masks has gone on for "too long" and has to be addressed for once and for all.
He said fears that the introduction of a face covering policy would undermine the supply of PPE "seem overblown, when you see the impact on many other countries".
Mr Martin also said it was "no surprise" that a proposed scheme to provide childcare to frontline healthcare workers was suspended because of a small take up among providers.
He told the Dáil that he previously raised concerns about the sector not being included in drawing up the plan.
"The failure to include childcare professionals in discussions about the design of childcare supports for frontline workers was a fatal weakness in the government's approach," he said.
"As such, no one was surprised by the announcement that the scheme has been suspended because only nine providers were willing to participate."
Mr Martin said the Oireachtas should be brought back to normal functioning as much as possible, in keeping with public health guidelines.
"There are many critical areas where oversight and debate are required. Deputies are eager to fulfill their mandates more effectively," he said.
Govt denies Lewis claim on 14 days' quarantine
Meanwhile, the Government has denied a claim by a UK minister that it is reviewing the 14-day quarantine period for travellers arriving in the State from Britain.
Brandon Lewis, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, told the House of Commons Northern Ireland Affairs committee that the Irish Government has the 14-day quarantine period for British travelers "under review".
He said he hoped that the Common Travel Area would be fully respected.
Mr Lewis told the committee the UK government had exempted the Republic of Ireland from its proposed 14-day quarantine period on international travelers because of the Common Travel Area.
Responding to a question from Conservative MP Robert Goodwill about the "asymmetric" application of quarantine regulations, Mr Lewis said: "This is an issue that is under review at the moment by the Irish government. We have put in place an exemption for the Common Travel Area.
"Our view is that we wanted to make sure we fully respected the CTA and but as I said were waiting ... the Irish Government has got this up (for review) at the moment, but I think for us it was important to fully respect, and have that full exemption for, the common travel area."
However, a spokesman for the Government said the 14-day quarantine period is not under review.
Additional reporting Sean Whelan
