Covid-19: Irish PM says no jab needed to return to office

Micheál Martin says a return to the office is return of livelihoods

People will not have to be vaccinated to return to the office, the taoiseach (Irish prime minister) has said.

Micheál Martin said the government would avoid that distinction and going back to the office was a return to livelihoods, RTÉ reports.

He also praised the country's Covid-19 vaccine roll out, with 86% of those eligible now having had their first dose.

Children aged 12 to 15 will be offered the vaccine next..

A quarter of a million more people are expected to be vaccinated before the next school term, he said.

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So far 5.72m doses have been administered, with 71% of the eligible population now fully vaccinated, and 86% partially vaccinated.

Mr Martin said 96.9% of vaccines available in Ireland had been administered to date, which was "way ahead" of EU averages.

Earlier, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said he expected many workers would return to the office from September.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said: "We have to recognise those vaccination targets we have been meeting are phenomenal.

"We have pulled ahead now. We have passed the US and are about to pass the UK in terms of level of vaccination, and that gives us strength and the ability to do further reopenings."

In Northern Ireland, 83% of people aged over 18 have had their first dose, and 70.9% have received their second.

As of Thursday 29 July, a total of 2,239,652 Covid-19 vaccines had been administered in Northern Ireland..