LATEST: Taoiseach says half people not turning up for boosters as over 5,500 new cases of virus confirmed

A further 5,590 people have contracted Covid-19, the Department of Health confirmed this evening.

And the number of patients being treated in hospital for the virus now stands at 505, a drop of 31 since yesterday. Of these, 117 Covid patients are in intensive care, a rise of seven.

The latest figures come as Taoiseach Micheál Martin told the Dáil today that tens of thousands of people are not turning up for their booster vaccines.

Mr Martin revealed that, in the week beginning November 22, just 80,000 people turned up for 208,000 vaccine appointments.

The Taoieach added that 93,000 attended 180,000 scheduled booster appointments last week.