CONFIRMED: County-wide travel, indoor meetings for two fully vaccinated people allowed from 12 April

Outdoor and sporting activities will also return on a phased basis from next month, with hairdressers and personal services set to re-open in May.

The government has confirmed that people will be permitted to travel within their own county from 12 April onwards. Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed the move as part of a gradual lifting restrictions on a phased basis from Monday, 12 April and not next Monday, 5 April, as had originally been anticipated. A full return of schools will also take place on 12 April, following the Easter holidays, while outdoor meetings between two families and indoor meetings between two people who have been fully vaccinated will also be permitted. As had been flagged ahead of the announcement this week, the lifting of restrictions will proceed on a gradual basis over the coming weeks. The decision by government to do so comes after the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) flagged concerns about a potential fourth wave of Covid-19 amid cases remaining stubbornly high and a significant portion of the population having yet to receive even the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. Accordingly, resumption of outdoor sporting activities, such as tennis and golf, will be allowed resume from the end of April onwards. Inter-county GAA training, having had its elite status restored, will be permitted to resume from 19 April. Elsewhere, some construction activity will be permitted to resume next month ahead of plans for a full return of the sector in May, when personal services, such as hairdressers, and click and collect retail services, will also be allowed to open for business. Attendance at funerals will be increased from 10 to 25 people, while zoos and heritage sites will be allowed to reopen from 26 April.