It may be possible to offer a vaccine to everyone who wants one by the end of June, according to the Tánaiste.

Leo Varadkar told the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party meeting this evening that the target is achievable if 10% - 15% of people in other EU countries refuse the jab.

He said the Government’s official target is still to offer a first dose to 82% of adults by the end of next month.

The Tánaiste told the meeting he is increasingly confident the country can reach a point where it is administering 300,000 to 400,000 vaccinations a week.

He said he hoped people in their 40s would be offered vaccine appointments by the end of the month

As of Monday, some 1,882,635 vaccine doses had been administered in Ireland.

Some 1,376,583 people had received their first dose, around 36.5% of the adult population.

This evening, a further 448 cases of the virus were announced; however, the number of COVID-19 patients in hospital has fallen to 109 - 20.5% less than this day last week.