The Taoiseach has said a comprehensive and coherent statement will be made next week on the level of Covid-19 restrictions that will apply for the period ahead.
Micheál Martin made the comments to a meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party, which heard calls from TDs and Senators for a medium-term plan once the over-70s and those with underlying conditions are vaccinated.
A number of TDs also called for an easing of the 5km travel limit, which was described by Mayo Senator Lisa Chambers as "ridiculous".
Some members felt travel should be allowed beyond 10km, or even 20km.
The Taoiseach told the meeting that "progress is fragile". He said a decision on easing Level 5 restrictions has not yet been made and there was a need to avoid speculation.
Mr Martin said most over-70s will have their first vaccine by mid April, and their second dose by mid May.
Earlier, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar it will be Tuesday before the Government makes its decisions regarding restrictions after 5 April, following the National Public Health Emergency Team's meeting on Monday.
He said it makes sense to wait the extra few days before getting advice from NPHET, because the Government is dealing with a "dynamic situation" in terms of numbers of Covid-19 cases.
There is "light at the end of the tunnel", he said, and we are seeing countries like the UK potentially starting to ease restrictions in the next couple of weeks.
He said that "gives us confidence if we can get enough vaccines in to enough arms, we would be in a much better place".
Mr Varadkar said Ireland could learn from the UK's mistakes.
#COVID19 Outbreak/Clusters in Ireland weekly report - focus on nursing homes and community hospitals, residential institutions, acute hospitals and an overview on other vulnerable populations https://t.co/rLnCMtzFMv pic.twitter.com/CCNL4l6909
— HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) (@hpscireland) March 24, 2021
Outbreaks of Covid-19 in private houses and schools increased last week, according to the latest figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre.
The overall number of outbreaks was 404, which was up by 65 when compared with the previous week.
An outbreak is two or more related cases and the data covers the week to last Saturday, including St Patrick's Day.
The overall number includes 95 "late notification" outbreaks from between October-January, mostly relating to private houses.
The number of outbreaks in private houses was up 55 to 258, while private house/general outbreaks also rose by five to 14.
There were 24 outbreaks in schools reported last week, up 16 on the previous week and outbreaks in childcare facilities also rose by eight to 16.
There was a small rise in workplace outbreaks by five to 19.
The figures also showed that outbreaks in nursing homes and hospitals had reduced.
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has said secondary schools "will return" after Easter.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, he said the Government is "working hard to deliver the plans" that it has for after Easter.
"They will return. I am very much aware of the impact on the well-being of our young girls and boys, on their families, and what that means, in particular for the ability of our young students to get back to some kind of a normal life, and how important that is to their health as well.
"We are working very hard to deliver the plans that we have, after Easter," the minister said.
Mr Donohoe said Ireland is making progress in relation to Covid-19.
He said the decisions that the Government makes in the coming days will "set the ground" for getting to a "better place" later on in the year, but "any change" to public health guidance is going to be "gradual", and "very very careful".
He said "concerning trends" have emerged in recent days.
Latest coronavirus stories
Meanwhile, latest figures from the HSE show that there has been a significant drop in the number of patients in hospital with Covid-19.
Last night, the HSE reported 325 patients, a reduction of 32 cases. The number of patients in intensive care has also decreased by four to 76.
The Vaccination Task Force said the campaign is on target to have those aged 70 and older fully vaccinated by mid-May.
It said there is "no drift" in the schedule and those aged 70 and older will have received their first dose by mid-April and their second dose by mid-May.
The task force said that supply chains for this group using mRNA vaccines have become more stable and larger deliveries are expected from this month onward.
It added that full protection is reached seven to 14 days after the second dose, which means this group will have full protection after mid-May.
Up to last Saturday, 176,343 people aged 70 and older had received their first dose and 14,292 had got their second dose of vaccine.
This Group 3 consists of just under half a million people and vaccines are being administered by GPs.
HSE Chief Executive Paul Reid said that swabbing referrals have increased - up by 35% on Monday and 42% yesterday compared to the same days last week.
In a post on Twitter, he said with hospitalisations down there is great hope, "but we need to stay alert to the virus in our community".
#COVID19 swabbing referrals are up Mon (35%) & Tue (42%) v's same days last week. Positively, hospitalisations are down to 325 & 76 in ICU. Available vaccinations are protecting those most vulnerable. Great hope but we need to stay alert to the virus in our community. @HSELive
— Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) March 24, 2021
Speaking at a briefing this morning, the Assistant Secretary at the Department of the Taoiseach said the rise in referrals for Covid-19 swabbing is a concerning early indicator.
Liz Canavan said there has been a 9% increase week-on-week in case numbers, the first increase since the peak of the third wave and 13 counties now have community positivity rates of more than 10%.
Yesterday, the Department of Health reported 24 further Covid-19-related deaths and 371 new cases of the disease.
The National Public Health Emergency Team has advised Government that the situation remains particularly fragile and precarious.
NPHET said there had been recent stalling of progress that had been ongoing since the beginning of the year and disease incidence and test positivity have plateaued at a high level in recent days.
It also said that the indicators of population mobility had risen over recent days.
Meanwhile, no further coronavirus deaths have been recorded in Northern Ireland during the past 24 hours, while 139 new cases have been confirmed.
There are 154 confirmed Covid-19 patients in hospital, with 14 in ICU, 12 of whom are on ventilators.
The seven-day incidence rate per 100,000 for Northern Ireland stands at 53.9, the lowest figure since 20 September.
Oncologist warns two-year disruption to cancer services likely
The pandemic is likely to disrupt cancer care services for around two years overall, according to oncologist Professor Seamus O'Reilly.
He said there needs to be a focus on addressing deficits in care to prevent long-term suffering in communities.
Prof O'Reilly, a consultant medical oncologist at Cork University Hospital, said a Lancet study in the UK estimated that it will be the second quarter of 2022 before disruption to services caused by the pandemic ends.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said given that Ireland is behind the UK in its vaccination programme, the disruption to services here is going to continue for longer than the nine months projected by the HSE.
Prof O'Reilly said the National Cancer Institute last year modelled what a six-month disruption to breast and colorectal cancer care would lead to, and this model indicated an increased mortality for the next ten years.
He said he sees a tremendous amount of suffering in his daily work and there is a duty of care now to mobilise the cancer treating community.
Additional reporting by David Murphy, Fergal Bowers
