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Taoiseach Micheál Martin will give a live address to the nation after 6 p.m. when the government’s revised Living with Covid plan is announced.
The reopening of the school will be at the center of the revamped plan, with the schools partially reopening on March 1. On this date, the junior and senior infants will return, as well as the first and second class in elementary school.
In high school, Leaving Certificate classes will return.
Childcare will also resume in stages beginning with the state’s Early Childhood Education and Care (ECCE) preschool program on March 8.
The next date in the plan is March 15 when the rest of the elementary classes will return. In secondary school, the fifth graders will return.
After the Easter break on April 12, all high school students falling below grade five will return with a full return to education planned.
Although the dates must be agreed by the Cabinet, sources have said that continuous reviews of the public health situation will be carried out during this period, which means that there is a caveat in the plans.
The Cabinet is also expected to approve plans this afternoon to extend social assistance supports for the Covid-19 pandemic, such as the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, until the end of June.
Changes to the vaccination schedule, presented to the cabinet Tuesday by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, will mean that vaccines will be offered earlier to people with certain chronic health conditions. It is unlikely that all people with chronic illnesses, a cohort estimated at 370,000 people, will be prioritized.
Mr. Martin’s address can be seen on RTÉ’s Six-One news program.
Meanwhile, a Donnelly spokesperson said the minister had made a mistake during the Claire Byrne show last night.
“The minister was wrong: before going on the air he was warned that the union leaders were going to return to their executives with the proposals and he understood that the process was not complete.”
Donnelly clarified his comments about the school’s reopening shortly after midnight in a tweet.
Donnelly has “the full support and confidence of the Government,” his colleague, the Minister of Public Expenditure, Michael McGrath, told RTÉ Radio One this afternoon.
On Claire Byrne Live on RTÉ Monday night, Donnelly said he could not confirm which classes would return to school and when.
He said his understanding was the advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) that was given to him and applied only to younger and older infants, and that talks were ongoing.
The cabinet had a subcommittee that had already approved the school’s reopening plan on Monday night.
It was brought to a full Cabinet meeting Tuesday morning and is expected to be announced publicly in the afternoon.
Donnelly later tweeted: “Clarification on the return of the schools: Meetings with the teachers unions concluded this afternoon. The government intends to make an announcement after the Cabinet in accordance with the plans already outlined. “
Earlier on Claire Byrne Live, he had said that Education Minister Norma Foley was still in negotiations with the teachers’ unions “and the cabinet hopes to be in a position to announce something tomorrow.”
When asked if she could understand people’s frustration at the lack of firm information on reopening schools, she said: “There is no one more frustrated than Minister Foley about this, she has been engaged with all educational partners on this. We want to end the line with this and hopefully those conversations can conclude positively tonight or tomorrow morning. ”
He told Claire Byrne Live after the subcommittee meeting Monday night that he understood that concerns had been raised and talks were ongoing.
Labor Party education spokesman Aodhán Ó Ríordáin called the government “dysfunctional” following Mr Donnelly’s comments.
Covid’s restrictions will last until April 5, when a review will be carried out to analyze the possibility of making the measures more flexible.
Despite hopes that certain social and economic activities may face some limited relaxations, sources said Monday night that high levels of illness and the priority of resuming education would likely limit the room for maneuver elsewhere.
The government is likely to backtrack on plans to allow some relaxation of outdoor restrictions, including non-contact training and socially distanced gatherings.
Until last week, ministers were actively discussing the limited resumption of such activity in early April, but despite strong arguments in favor of people’s mental health, the high number of cases and pressure on hospitals led to the measure being scrapped, and it is unlikely to be considered until after Easter.
Other restrictions on nonessential retail trade and the 5km exercise limit will remain.
There is growing concern in the government about declining compliance with some aspects of Covid-19 regulations as fatigue sets in among the population. Data released Monday shows that a third of the population does not stay within 10 km of their homes, and the level of compliance with the restrictions has been decreasing during February.
Despite this, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ronan Glynn said Monday that high levels of compliance by the majority were having a positive effect in hospitals, where infections in healthcare workers declined along with hospital outbreaks.
One more patient death from Covid-19 was reported Monday, bringing the total number of deaths in the pandemic to 4,137. Another 686 cases of the disease were reported.
Donnelly is also likely to tell his cabinet colleagues that the state is in a position to administer 250,000 vaccines a week once supplies arrive.
There will also likely be an update on plans to impose a mandatory quarantine at designated hotels on travelers from high-risk countries. This morning, Justice Minister Helen McEntee said the legislation, which was first promised last month, would be finalized within the next two weeks.
Donnelly said he will introduce hotel quarantine legislation through the Dáil on Wednesday and Thursday.
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