Government confirmed the new closing hours from Monday until the 30th of January.
Indoor and outdoor events will also be limited to 50 per cent capacity to a maximum of 1,000 inside or 5,000 people outside respectively.
NPHET had advised the closure of hospitality, cinemas and theatres at 5pm.
Government instead chose 8pm as the closing time, with CMO Dr Tony Holohan saying he thinks that will help the situation:
"And I know there will be some that say, 'well what's the difference between something before five o'clock and after five o'clock or before eight o'clock and after eight o'clock?' Individually, there's no inherent difference in that. The reality is that if we reduce that level, in that way, we reduce the total volume of contact that takes place across the population associated with that- what is deemed high risk activity- in terms of the transmission of this virus."
