A member of NPHET has said the virus will spiral out of control in Dublin without action.
Professor Philip Nolan has said people are misreading the data on how prevalent the spread of Covid is from restaurants and bars.
Ministers are considering whether to ban indoor dining in Dublin for the next few weeks.
Pubs
The official data records just three clusters of Covid in pubs and restaurants nationwide in the last week.
But Professor Philip Nolan says this is a misreading of the data.
He's said people may pick up Covid in one of those settings but not start spreading it for three of four days.
Some important insight to NPHET's recommendation on restaurants and pubs https://t.co/iOPLsphc5k
— Seán Defoe (@SeanDefoe) September 18, 2020
As public health only asks for your movements for 48 hours before symptoms this might not pick up where someone actually contracted the virus.
He's argued that settings like bars, restaurants and gyms are where people are actually picking up the virus - but are not reflected in the figures.
The cabinet sub-committee on Covid is meeting at the moment to consider the advice and a full cabinet meeting has been convened for later this afternoon.
An announcement confirming the restrictions will come around tea time.
