Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said he expects children aged between five and 11-years-old to be offered Covid vaccines in the future.

Speaking to the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party this evening, Mr Varadkar said the current wave of Covid is plateauing, but at a high level.

The Tánaiste said the trajectory of the virus is uncertain and the Government is doing everything possible to avoid a lockdown.

He said people are responding positively to the recently announced new restrictions and said the booster campaign is reducing case numbers in people aged over 70.

The Fine Gael leader said he expects a subsidised scheme for antigen tests to be agreed by the Cabinet next week.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin also noted a change in behaviour among the public in recent days during a meeting of his parliamentary party

Mr Martin said he and Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath will meet with the hospitality industry after the party passed a motion calling for the meeting to take place.

Fianna Fáil also voted in favour of implementing more financial supports for the sector including continuing the waiver on commercial rates, retaining the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme and revamping the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme.

Senators Ollie Crowe, Pat Casey and TD John Lahart brought the motion to the party meeting and it is understood that there was unanimous support for it.

Mr McGrath said supports for a wide range of sectors are being kept under review and said the Budget included €4bn for Covid contingency plans.