Cafés, bars and restaurants are trying to get stock ready after restrictions were lifted this evening.
Businesses in Laois and Offaly are welcoming the lifting of restrictions.
The president of Tullamore Chamber says it's positive that people can move about and that there'll be no dispute about the county being open for business.
Roger Guiney says the hospitality sector, which has been battered and bruised by restrictions, would have welcomed the news last night, so they could get stock orders in today.
He says today's move is simply a step on a longer journey for enterprise in the midlands:
Mark Healy, who is the co-owner of the Pantry on Main St Portlaoise, says re-starting on short notice is as challenging as closing down:
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