Immunisation clinics planned for today using the AstraZeneca vaccine have been cancelled by the Health Service Executive, due to changes in the advice on the use of the product.

The Government is to "foot the bill" for any Irish Erasmus student obliged to enter hotel quarantine when returning to Ireland, under a plan to be outlined later today by Minister Simon Harris.

Traveller employment needs to become a significant focus for Government policy and strategy if unemployment among members is to be tackled, according to a new report.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn will warn politicians today of the "considerable risk" of another wave of Covid-19 infection if restrictions are eased too quickly.

Fresh protests broke out last night in Minneapolis in the United States despite a curfew implemented after a police officer fatally shot a young black man when she appeared to confuse her handgun with her taser.

US infectious disease official Anthony Fauci said AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine had good efficacy, but safety concerns needed to be straightened out and it might not be needed for Americans because of supplies of other shots.

Irish couples who are pursuing surrogacy in Ukraine learned this week that the country has been added to the mandatory hotel quarantine list here by the Department of Health.

Up to 500 Irish tourism businesses will pitch to buyers from 19 countries in the coming days as Ireland looks to reopening the country to international visitors in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The officer commanding a team of over 300 members of the Defence Forces who are heading to south Lebanon on the latest UN peacekeeping mission has insisted that all preparations necessary to combat the challenge of Covid-19 are being taken.

A woman who returned from Dubai ten days ago to support her mother after her father was diagnosed with cancer, has become the latest person to challenge the legality of her detention at a quarantine hotel.

Almost 200 Dutch tourists traded lockdown in the Netherlands for eight days of sunshine and relaxation in a Greek beach resort, as part of a test to see if safe holidays can be arranged during the pandemic.

Gardaí working in the mandatory hotel quarantine system are to receive Covid-19 vaccinations.

Up to 20,000 construction workers began returning to work on residential, early-learning and childcare sites around the country from today as Covid-19 restrictions ease.

Today's partial lifting of Covid-19 travel restrictions saw a busy day on the country's roads as people took the opportunity to travel beyond their 5 kilometre restriction for the first time in over 100 days.

From wide differences in the relative risks of Covid-19 and the AstraZeneca vaccine depending on your age, to the side effects to watch out for, here are six things we learned from this evening's briefing at the Department of Health.

Irish Erasmus students working in the five EU member states currently on the Government's mandatory hotel quarantine list may not have to pay for the service.

Joseph Siravo, who played Tony Soprano's father Johnny in The Sopranos, has died. Siravo, who was 66, had been diagnosed with colon cancer.

The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) has recommended that only people over 60 years of age should get the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.

The number of people due to receive the Pandemic Unemployment Payment this week is down 15,776 on last week.

The private tenants group Threshold has asked the government to reconsider the lifting of the ban on evictions.