Ireland’s Prime Minister announced on Friday that most COVID restrictions will be lifted, including early closing times and other restrictions on hospitality venues, and declared that the country had "weathered the Omicron storm".

The strict rules that compelled the nightclubs to close over the Christmas period, were lifted from Saturday, as new COVID-19 cases and other major indicators eased over the recent weeks. The PM said that the justification for continuing most of the public health restrictions were no longer in place. However, he warned that the pandemic is not over yet. Pubs, bars and restaurants can now operate as per normal trading hours and will not need a COVID pass system or social distancing. Indoor and outdoor events will not have any limits on the number of persons and different households can also gather without any limits on numbers. Employees can gradually return to workplaces now… (NDTV – AFP, January 22, 2022)