Tanaiste Leo Varadkar pinpoints day he wants 'nearly all' Covid restrictions lifted in Ireland as Omicron 'less severe'

Leo Varadkar has singled out March 31 as the day when nearly all restrictions could be lifted.

The Tanaiste gave an upbeat update to the TDs, Senators and MEPs of the Fine Gael parliamentary party at their weekly meeting.

And he has started the clock ticking for March 31 as a potential ‘freedom day’ that would see a vast swathe of restrictions lifted in one fell swoop.

However, the Tanaiste added a note of caution when he said that we must still be wary of another new Covid variant coming along later in the year.

A TD at the meeting said: “The Tanaiste spoke about the progress being made on Covid-19, the fact that Omicron is less severe and that a high level of immunity has built up due to vaccination and infection.

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar. (Gareth Chaney/Collins)

"This meant that hospitalisations, ICU numbers and deaths did not increase to the same extent as in previous waves. He said this gives us a strong degree of confidence that we can ease restrictions quickly over the next few weeks.

"He said that by and large, we've got most things right as a government and as a society when it comes to Covid which is evident from case fatality ratios, the number of deaths per million in population, the number of people in hospital per million, the percentage of people vaccinated and the impact on our economy and public finances.

"He expressed his wish to set March 31 as a deadline to end almost all legal restrictions, while stating we cannot promise anything yet and there is still the option of extending for another three months until the end of June.

“He also noted we may have to keep some measures another while longer such as mask wearing in crowded places, staying at home when symptomatic and Covid passes for international travel.”

The TD added: “He said we must continue to be prepared for a new severe variant of concern later in the year and that means being prepared for another round of vaccination if that's necessary, being able to switch back on test/trace/isolate programmes, investing in improved air quality in our buildings and continued increases in hospital bed capacity and ICUs.”