Irish pubs are likely to be allowed open fully from Saturday evening, as long as they are stocked and in a position to do so.
The move will be formally ratified by Cabinet at their 3pm meeting and, if given the green light, announced by the Taoiseach around 6pm.
Advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) on Thursday evening saw a recommendation for the majority of guidelines to be relaxed - including social distancing in pubs and the 8pm curfew which has been in place since just before Christmas.
The news has been welcomed by officials in the hospitality industry.
And though nothing is rubber-stamped as of yet, here's what we know so far.
What's the latest from the Government?
Leo Varadkar has increased hopes that the majority of Covid-19 restrictions will be lifted in the coming days - telling reporters that if there is no public health rationale for them, there will be no political rationale for them either.
Mr Varadkar was speaking on the way into a meeting of the three party leaders this afternoon, with the Cabinet set to meet fully from 3pm.
He said: "The issues now are around timing and around the additional financial supports for businesses.
"They're the kind of things we have to make decisions on today - the exact timing of when restrictions can be eased and also the supports being phased out.
"Some things can be done quickly but other restrictions require legislation to be rescinded. We have to work out all those details.
"I think across Government if there's a belief that there's no public health rationale for restrictions then there is no political rationale either."
What have the pub bosses said?
Irish pubs are "ready to open" on Friday evening if given the green light to do so by the Government.
Vintners’ Federation of Ireland Chief Executive Padraig Cribben said: "After almost two years of lockdowns and closures our members are ready to fully open from Friday. There's no need to wait any longer, all restrictions should be removed this weekend.
“NPHET has no objection to a full reopening of pubs so we need to go for it now. Northern Ireland is fully reopening over the coming days so it’s important we make the same decision.
Donall O’Keeffe, Chief Executive of the Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) said:
“The news coming from NPHET has been eagerly awaited by the entire hospitality and late night sectors for a long, long time.
“Hopefully the Government will now move swiftly and there will be no delays to the full reopening and the scrapping of hospitality restrictions."
