Four more people have died from swine flu in the Republic, bringing the number of deaths to 14.
The Department of Health said two women and a man died in east of the country in the past week, while a woman died in the south.
All had underlying health conditions.
No further details were disclosed.
Some 30,000 people contracted the virus in the past week. The rate of infection dropped last week from 210 per 100,000 of the population to 178.5. However, officials said this figure may have been skewed due the bank holiday last week.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, a total of 664 people have been hospitalised with swine flu, with 64 admitted to intensive care. There are currently 164 people in hospital with swine flu, 19 of them in intensive care.
Of those admitted to hospital, 6 per cent have been pregnant women. Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said this underlines the importance of pregnant women presenting themselves for vaccination.
The Health Service Executive began vaccinating at-risk groups against the H1N1 virus this week.
It has delivered over 200,000 doses of swine flu vaccine to GPs, who will get the same amount again over the coming weeks. A further 100,000 doses will be available at the HSE clinics.
The vaccine will be available through 2,300 GPs and at 45 special HSE clinics in areas where GPs are not participating in the vaccination campaign.
Those in the at-risk group, who number up to 500,000 people, include those aged 6 months to 65 years who have long-term lung, kidney, heart or liver disease, neurological conditions like MS, weakened immune systems, respiratory problems like asthma or cystic fibrosis, diabetes, the morbidly obese and women more than 14 weeks pregnant and up to six weeks after giving birth.
Vaccinations will be offered people outside the at-risk group in the near future.
Minister for Health Mary Harney told the Dáil earlier this week it could take from six to eight months to vaccinate the entire population for swine flu.
The World Health Organisation warned today the swine flu virus has picked up steam in the northern hemisphere and is expected to cause more serious infections and deaths as cold weather sets in.
But the virus is not known to have mutated, meaning that antivirals continue to provide effective treatment, it said.
Almost 6,000 people worldwide have died from swine flu, which is now present in virtually every country, according to the WHO. Most serious illness and fatalities occur in patients younger than 65, a different pattern to seasonal influenza, which traditionally strikes the elderly.