Following a meeting of the Cabinet earlier today, the Government has confirmed a further easing of restrictions on April 26th will go ahead as planned.
Outdoor sporting facilities will reopen, including pitches, tennis courts and golf courses, with people from a maximum of two households permitted to meet. Other facilities, such as changing rooms, must remain closed, apart from essential toilet facilities.
Underage non-contact outdoor training can go ahead in pods of up to 15, while outdoor visitor attractions, such as zoos, open pets farms and heritage sites can once again welcome visitors.
A statement also confirmed the number of people who can attend a funeral will increase to 25.
This comes as the Tánaiste suggested hairdressers and retailers could reopen next month as the Government plans the next stage in the easing of restrictions.
Leo Varadkar said more outdoor activities could also be allowed, as well as the full return of construction and resumption of religious services.
The Cabinet will meet again next week to consider advice from public health experts, and Mr Varadkar said ministers will consider which restrictions can be eased in May.
“One of the things I don’t want to do is speculate about what is going to happen over the next couple of weeks or months,” he added.
“What we did agree at Cabinet today was that we will meet next week, we will have advice from Nphet (National Public Health Emergency Team) at that point, and we will be able to decide what restrictions can be waived in May.
“As we stated before, that will involve looking at things like personal services like barbers and hairdressers, retail, more outdoor activities, religious services and the full return of construction.
“Those are the kind of things that we are going to look at next week for May.”
Mr Varadkar said he also hopes to set out indicative dates for what could be eased in June and July.
