COVID infection rates in the Republic are now among the lowest in Europe, with hospital and ICU admissions also stabilising.
Health officials in Dublin confirmed there are only two European countries where the incidence of the disease is currently falling - Ireland and Finland.
And they said the rate of the reduction in the Republic is four times higher than that of Finland.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has singled out the efforts of young people for a "dramatic reduction" in numbers of coronavirus cases.
On Thursday, Dr Holohan publicly thanked 19 to 24-year-olds after it emerged the incidence rates in their age group had gone from 450 cases per 100,000 to 150 per 100,000 in just a fortnight.
Cases among older people are also falling.
While virus rates are beginning to fall in Northern Ireland, hospitals have been overwhelmed with many operating at capacity. There were 407 patients being treated in hospital yesterday, with 49 in intensive care units.
Hundreds of planned operations, including cancer and transplant surgeries, have been cancelled while there are serious workforce shortages, particularly among nurses.
Despite the Republic's progress, the Health Service Executive's Chief Clinical Officer said this does not mean Level 5 restrictions should be eased sooner.
Dr Colm Henry told RTÉ that if you look to trends in Europe where controls are lifted too soon, "we see rapid deterioration".
"Ultimately decisions are made by government not just based on public health guidance but wider economic interests," Dr Henry said.
The medic also said they are examing a range of Covid-19 testing strategies to ensure they are safe and effective, with 23 tests on the market.
Meanwhile, the chair of the Republic's National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has said it was wrong to claim the sustained drop in Covid cases would have happened under the Level 3 restrictions that were in place in early October.
He said that people "voluntarily" cut their social contacts in advance of the Irish government's decision to introduce Level 5 restrictions.
