Chair of the Irish Medical Organisation's GP Committee Dr Denis McCauley said he believes the vaccination programme is going well and that the Government's vaccination targets can be met.

Covid restrictions are being eased in Northern Ireland today, with hairdressers and beauty salons allowed to reopen for the first time since St Stephen's Day.

ESB Networks has described today's 24-hour strike by some network technicians belonging to the Independent Workers Union as "unlawful" and said it plans to take legal action over the matter.

Australian authorities ordered a snap, three-day lockdown in the western city of Perth today after the coronavirus escaped from a quarantine hotel housing infected international travellers.

Indonesia's desperate search for a missing submarine and its crew of 53 honed in on a radar contact this morning, with just hours to go before the stricken vessel's oxygen reserves ran out.

Two months after it opened, staff at Ireland's first hospital dedicated to sick and injured wildlife are appealing to the public to think twice before rescuing baby birds and animals.

The Government needs to administer 4.5 million vaccine doses by the end of June to reach its targets. Three things need to happen to get there, reports Mark Coughlan.

Gardaí investigating the activities of an organised criminal gang in Drogheda have seized two pipe bombs, gun powder, and a large quantity of ammunition.

Boris Johnson's former aide Dominic Cummings has been blamed for the leaking of the prime minister's text messages.

Russia has begun withdrawing troops that had been running drills near the borders of Ukraine, the defence ministry said, following weeks of heightened tensions between Moscow and the West over the buildup.

A Florida couple who planned their wedding at a multimillion-dollar mansion near Miami thought they could get hitched without a snag until one tiny detail got in the way: the owner was home and had no idea about their party.

SpaceX is set to launch its third crew to the International Space Station this morning, reusing a rocket and crew capsule in a human mission for the first time.

Gardaí say that a 14-year-old girl missing from her home in Co Louth since Monday has been found safe and well.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has said there "are reasons for real hope" that the country can reach a point where an easing of restrictions can be recommended to Government.

Gardai have seized over two thousand catalytic converters and 14 drums of smelted converters with an estimated value of €2.2 million.

Intel has confirmed there has been an outbreak of Covid-19 on the construction site for its new manufacturing facility in Leixlip, Kildare.

Concerns have been raised about the number of people sharing bedrooms with non-family members in Direct Provision Centres.

Follow pandemic developments as they happen at home and abroad throughout today.

The EU Commission said legal action has not been commenced against the AstraZeneca company, even though Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly told the Dáil this afternoon that a "legal case has been initiated".