It feels like a long way off.

But Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has us dreaming of sunny trips to Cork’s best beaches and beer gardens later this year after he said he feels optimistic about summer travel.

While the current Level 5 restrictions continue until March 5th, with the next level yet to be decided, the feeling in Government is that by the time the weather starts improving, Covid-19 figures will hopefully have declined enough to relax the rules.

Mr Varadkar told RTÉ 2FM’s Breakfast with Doireann and Eoghan that while he had hoped to be holidaying somewhere a little warmer, he has a staycation in Sligo booked for August because there is a ‘very good chance’ that holidays in Ireland will be possible from June on.

“I think we will be able to have beers outdoors with friends this summer and get around the country but you just never know because this virus has torn up our plans so many times,” he told the radio show.

“I think because of the vaccine and because of the change in the weather and because of what everyone is doing to get the virus down, I think there is a very good chance that this summer we will be able to have home holidays a bit like we did last summer,” he said.