Police and protesters across the US have clashed again on the fifth straight night of unrest, following the death of unarmed black man George Floyd.
Demonstrations have spread to more than 30 cities, with cars and buildings burned and shops looted.
Officers in some cities have responded to unrest with tear gas and rubber bullets, while the National Guard has also been deployed to several states.
Curfews have also been put in place in cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago, as well as in Minneapolis where the protests began.
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A further nine people with COVID-19 have died in the Republic, bringing the death toll to 1,651.
There are also 59 new new cases, with the total now standing at 24,929.
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The Fianna Fail leader says one of the first task of a new government will be to accelerate the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, Micheál Martin also said he is confident he can get his party to agree to a coalition government with Fine Gael and the Greens.
Government formation talks have been continuing through the weekend, with party leaders hoping a deal can be reached in the coming days.
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The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft is due to dock with the International Space Station later today.
Two American astronauts blasted off from US soil yesterday evening, passing over Irish airspace shortly before nine.
The joint operation by NASA and SpaceX is the first time a private firm was given control of a crewed space flight
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Three men have been arrested after eight million cigarettes were seized in a cross-border operation in County Armagh.
Seven searches were also carried out at a business premises and six homes in the Carlingford area in County Louth this morning.
Around €100,000 euro in cash was seized along with raw tobacco product worth over €1.5 million.
