Cabinet is expected to remove the mandatory requirement for facemasks to be worn in schools, shops and on public transport this morning.
It comes as Taoiseach Micheál Martin is traveling to Berlin for talks with the German Chancellor.
At a meeting of Government party leaders last night it was decided to accept NPHET advice on mask wearing in public settings.
Cabinet will give the green light this morning for them to become optional from the start of next week.
This will apply in schools, shops and on public transport - but people will be advised to still wear masks in public transport settings.
Cabinet will also consider the Institutional Burials Bill, legislation designed to set up an agency to oversee the exhumation of sites like Tuam where inappropriate burials took place, and the identification of remains.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin won't be at this morning's Cabinet meeting.
He's flying to Brussels to meet the new German chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Over a working lunch at the Chancellery it's expected the two leaders will discuss the ongoing situation between Russia and Ukraine, economic recovery after Covid, Brexit and climate policy.
The meeting may prove a tone setter for Ireland's relationship with Germany post-Angela Merkel.
