A number of senior doctors are calling on NPHET to publish COVID-19 figures on a weekly rather than daily basis.
They say the daily announcement of case numbers and deaths due to coronavirus is causing unnecessary anxiety.
A number of European countries have moved to a system of weekly updates.
It is also argued the daily figures, which can vary widely, give an inaccurate snapshot of the behaviour of the virus.
Dublin GP Dr Maitiú Ó Tuathail said the daily updates were "meaningless" and are leading to "huge anxiety".
He said: "Daily reporting is also meaningless, as cases go up [and] down each day.
"We need weekly updates on cases [and] deaths - that’s useful and meaningful."
Writing on Twitter he said: "As a society, we need to get off the emotional rollercoaster that is the daily release of COVID figures.
"When they’re high, they cause mass hysteria. When they’re low, they cause false reassurance.
"It’s leading to huge anxiety and is of little benefit."
It follows comments made by Newstalk presenter Dr Ciara Kelly who said the daily reports were frightening people.
Do we need to change how we report Covid-19 cases? @ciarakellydoc has her say on @BreakfastNT #BKNT pic.twitter.com/xq230MI1HE
— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) September 3, 2020
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast yesterday, she said more people are dying from other causes such as alcoholism or cancer.
She said: "I think we have fallen into a narrative every night on the report on the number of deaths...and it's quite frightening for people.
"People are afraid of this news and with good reason.
"People are dying from much greater things now and they're not being reported on the news."
She added: "I think we are getting this wrong. We are frightening people, and the narrative around COVID-19 needs to move on.
"COVID is what we need to learn to live with, we're frightening people and there isn't justification for it."
'We can't continue to obsess'
The Labour leader Alan Kelly has backed the call from doctors to move from issuing the figures daily to weekly.
He said: "The daily release of figures is causing great anxiety to many people.
"If we are forced to live with the virus for some time to come then we cannot continue to obsess over the number of daily cases.
“We need to move to a system whereby we have a comprehensive weekly briefing identifying the weekly trend in the virus which is far more important.
"People are being bombarded with a lot of information at the moment and this is one way of ensuring that they do not become overwhelmed and stop listening to public health advice."
