Tánaiste Leo Varadkar says the daily COVID-19 case numbers are expected to surpass 4,000 in the coming days.
Daily case numbers have been above 3,000 for the past three days.
The five-day moving average of COVID-19 cases has increased by 47% in the space of a week.
Mr Varadkar told Newstalk Breakfast he still believes we can get through winter without restrictions.
He said: “The situation is fragile but stable.
"We are seeing very high case numbers… we expect, in part because of rising case numbers and a backlog that needs to be validated, cases will hit 4,000 in the next couple of days.”
However, he said high case numbers don’t mean the same as they did last year as the “vaccine wall is holding”.
He noted that hospital numbers have been relatively stable over the past week or two, after steadily climbing in previous weeks.
He observed: “It's important we don’t fixate on daily case numbers, because they tend to bounce around.
"I think it is possible to get through the winter without more restrictions - but nobody can rule out that possibility.”
Mr Varadkar said he does believe a more extensive booster campaign will be needed, and said approval for vaccines for 5-11 year olds is likely in the coming months.
He also said it's important for Ireland to authorise new COVID-19 therapeutics soon, such as the Merck's molnupiravir tablet that was approved by the UK earlier this week.
