Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said that Covid-19 case numbers are starting to plateau, but added that he would like to see them fall in the run up to Christmas.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, he said it would be a "big mistake" to impose a whole set of new restrictions in the coming days to find out that the country has "turned a corner anyway".
He said more restrictions may be needed coming into the Christmas period, but the Government would try to avoid a full lockdown.
Mr Varadkar also said he would not speculate about possible restrictions at this stage. "I think we may need more restrictions heading into the Christmas period but I don't think we need to be fatalistic about a return to any form of lockdown or even a 'lockdown