The vaccination of people under 35s is "really working now" and it is "all OK" for the next stage of reopening on Monday, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said.

"Cases have plateaued [or are] falling. Rise in patients in hospital and ICU slowing," he said in a post on Twitter.

"Vaccination of under 35s really working now. All ok for next stage of reopening on Monday."

Restrictions set to be eased on Monday include live music and dancing being allowed at weddings and organised outdoor events having 75% capacity, where all attendees are fully vaccinated or accompanied minors.

All religious ceremonies can go ahead with 50% of venue capacity, regardless of the immunity status of attendees.

Earlier yesterday, the Department of Health confirmed 1,414 new cases of Covid-19.

There are 353 people in hospital who have tested positive for the disease, a rise of 10 since yesterday. Of these, 55 are being treated in intensive care, a drop of four.

Also today, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) reported that the 14-day incidence of Covid-19 in Ireland is reducing.

The latest report from the HPSC puts the figure at 493 per 100,000 people up to 1 September. Just over a week ago, it was at 532.

There were 100 Covid-19 outbreaks in the week to last Saturday, a small reduction on the previous week, according to the latest report from the HPSC.

New figures also show that 89% of adults aged 18 years and older are now fully vaccinated.

Of those aged 12 years and older, 82% are fully vaccinated.

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Meanwhile, Ireland recorded the highest 14-day incidence of Covid-19 in Europe last week, according to data released by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

The country's 14-day incidence rate at that time was 504.11 cases per 100,000 people.

It was followed by Cyprus at 496.1, Greece at 412.3 and France at 403.2.

Poland had the lowest incidence of the virus, where the 14-day rate stands at 7.7 cases per 100,000 people.

The death rate for Covid-19 patients in Ireland was 6.65 deaths per 100,000 people over the fortnight.

Bulgaria had the highest death rate at 55.67 deaths per 100,000 people in those two weeks.

In a post on Twitter, chair of the High Level Task Force on Vaccination, Professor Brian MacCraith, said that 6.87 million vaccines have been administered.

At this stage, 92.1% of adults have received at least one dose.

Yesterday, the Department of Health was notified of 1,751 new cases of Covid-19.

In Northern Ireland, nine deaths and 1,248 new cases have been reported in the past 24 hours.

There were 409 Covid-positive people in hospital this morning, 46 of them in intensive care.

Health officials also said that 2,456,256 vaccines have been administered.

Additional reporting: Dimitri O'Donnell