New restrictions will be in place until January 12.

Hairdressers, restaurants, and pubs serving food will close on Christmas Eve, as new restrictions come into place for the festive season. These closures, agreed on by Cabinet today, will be followed by a ban on inter-county travel from December 26. The mixing of households will not be permitted from January 1 and will be reduced to one other household from December 27. The number of wedding guests permitted will be reduced from 25 to six from January 2. Hotels will close to non-essential bookings from December 26. These new restrictions, set to last until January 12, were agreed on this morning by the government following a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases. Initially, hairdressers and restaurants were permitted to remain open over the festive period, but NPHET has since warned that Ireland's increase in cases is worrying. Travel restrictions from the UK to Ireland will remain in place until the end of the year. Special flights are being organised for travellers who stopped off in the UK en route to Ireland, and those who were on short trips in Britain. The new strain of Covid-19 in the UK has been described as "out of control" and the ban on travel to multiple EU member states has left thousands of people stranded.