Level 5 restrictions commence at midnight on Wednesday.

Gardaí will be able to issue fines to people who host house parties. The Cabinet agreed today that Gardaí will be given special powers to fine the organisers of house parties under Level 5 restrictions. Under the measures, Gardaí will be permitted to call to a home and request that a house party be broken up. If the host does not comply, they can be fined under a fixed charge notice. Gardaí will not have permission to enter homes under this new rule. As well as this, if Gardaí suspect a person loitering on the street is going to a house party, they can be asked by Gardaí to go home. If the person refuses to leave the area, they can be fined. This comes after Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced last night that the entire country will be moving to Level 5 restrictions. This will include a ban on visitors to the home (apart from those in social bubbles), only exercising and travelling within a 5km radius, and the closure of all non-essential retail. Initially, under Level 5 just 25 people were permitted to attend a wedding and 10 people attend a funeral. That decision has since been updated to 25 people for both weddings and funerals. Level 5 restrictions will be in place for the whole of Ireland from midnight on Wednesday for six weeks. Martin called on the public to take this "threat seriously" during last night's address and follow the new restrictions. "If each of us does what is asked of us for just six weeks, we will suppress this virus and emerge from these restrictions on the 1 December," he said. "We must persevere, and we must be resilient. We as a people are much stronger than we realise. These are the toughest of times, but the Irish people will persevere, and we will come through this together."