The Chief Medical Officer says Ireland is on track to lift Covid restrictions in October.
Tony Holohan is before TDs and Senators at the Oireachtas Health Committee and says he cannot rule out measures being reintroduced in the future, if a new virus strain was to cause issues.
However on his way into the Cabinet meeting Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said there are no plans to bring back measures
Dr Tony Holohan says the country is currently on course to ease restrictions on October 22.
"Our hope and expectation is that we won't find ourselves in that position, and we're going top express cautious optimism that will remain the situation.
"The scenarios that might arise that could give rise to those requirements will be potentially in relation to new variants, and the emergences of challenges that, at the moment, we don't see any signs of in the international sphere."
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said he doesn't believe severe restrictions will be needed.
"We're actually doing as good if not better than the most optimistic of the four scenarios NPHET put forward, so we're very much on track for reopening.
"Things are going as well as we thought they could, we're on track to ease restrictions further.
"Of course this virus surprises us, and of course we can't rule out re-imposing restrictions but that's not planned nor is it likely."
