Two million people have now been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in the Republic of Ireland, Taoiseach Michéal Martin announced today. 

He also said that 70pc of adults in the State have received at least one Covid-19 vaccine.

Taking to Twitter this morning, he wrote: “Two million people are now fully vaccinated - and 70pc of adults have received at least one #CovidVaccine dose.

“Brilliant effort by all the @HSELive staff and volunteers involved in our rollout.”

Ireland is rallying to accelerate the vaccination programme amid concern about the Delta variant, which according to health experts is two times more infectious than the original Covid-19 strain.

Pharmacies have begun vaccinating those under 34-years-old with the single shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said those aged 30 to 34 who have registered on the vaccine portal will begin getting their appointment dates next week.

Yesterday, a further 581 new Covid-19 cases were confirmed by the Department of Health as Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said the country is continuing to see an increase in incidence rate.

“We are continuing to see an increase in the incidence rate of Covid-19, and so, it is important that we do as much as possible to control the spread of the disease as the vaccination programme opens to all adults over the age of 18,” he said.

“The continuing high levels of adherence to the public health advice, high levels of vaccine uptake and community engagement with testing centres around the country are all reasons to be positive.

"If you display any symptoms of Covid-19, it is important that you isolate straight away and come forward for a PCR test.”