The National Public Health Emergency Team will meet on Thursday to discuss the possible easing of current restrictions.
It is hoped that the 8pm curfew on the hospitality sector will at least be extended until 11pm as senior government sources said they would be surprised if NPHET recommended the 'normal' operating hours for pubs to resume.
The strict Covid measures have been in place since late last year and have meant that nightclubs, restaurants and bars were unable to open beyond 8pm, drastically affecting their turnover.
On Sunday, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said he hoped that some of the restrictions would be lifted "soon," adding that the easing of restrictions would likely be a phased process.
He told RTE radio: "I think it will be phased. I don't anticipate that we'll just remove all restrictions at the end of January or the start of February. I think it will be a phased process over the next couple of months."
Pub and restaurant owners have also called for the 8pm closure times to be lifted as case numbers begin to fall.
Speaking to the Irish Times on Monday, Fianna Fail's Willie O'Dea urged the government to lift the 8pm curfew on the hospitality sector "immediately" instead of waiting until the beginning of February.
He said: "I'd like to see it lifted sooner. If they still wanted the pubs to close at 10pm rather than 8pm it wouldn't make a significant difference to the fight against the spread of the pandemic."
However, things are looking hopeful for 2022 as immunology expert Dr Sam McConkey told RTE's Brendan O'Connor that things will return to some level of 'normality' and that he expects the 8pm curfew to finish.
He said: "I don't think it will be 2019 normality.
"Certainly, those that work in hospitals are going to have to test everyone coming in and keep folk who have Covid separately from those who don't because people in hospitals who don't have Covid are very vulnerable to getting it.
He added: "There may be some restrictions on wearing masks and some social distancing, so I think it will be a new normal as we have all famously said, but I'm hoping that a lot of the restrictions like the eight o'clock closures of hospitality will finish.
"I'm hoping there will be, certainly, widespread outdoor music festivals in the summer Brendan, which obviously a lot of us would look forward to. So I think there will be a lot of the things we really value and cherish back to normal but still some adaptations."
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