Dublin, Jun 20 (IANS): Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar slipped in a quote from the 2004 American teen comedy film, "Mean Girls" during his daily briefing on the COVID-19 situation in the country, a media report said.

As the Prime Minister announced plans to scale back COVID-19 restrictions, he said on Friday: "Some have asked whether there is a limit to what we can achieve," the Metro newspaper reported.

Quoting the moment Lindsay Lohan's character in the movie wins the Mathletes championship finals, Varadkar said: "My answer is that the limit does not exist."

It appears that "Lord of the Rings" star Sean Astin bet Varadkar "50 quid" to slip the "Mean Girls" reference into his next speech, said the newspaper.

The wager was in response to the Irish leader quoting Astin's part of Samwise during a previous COVID-19 briefing.

In it, Varadkar had said: "So, this afternoon let me end with words of hope. In the end, it's only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines, it'll shine out the clearer."

During Friday's briefing, the Prime Minister said that, with some exceptions, Ireland will move to phase three from June 29.

Hairdressers and barbers will reopen and gatherings of up to 50 people indoors will be allowed after the government brought forward a series of relaxation measures.

He said that after studying advice from the National Public Health and Emergency Team (NPHET), Cabinet approved the rephasing of the road map.

These include the reopening of churches and places of worship, gyms, cinemas, leisure facilities, hairdressers, beauticians and barber shops, the Metro newspaper reported.

Varadkar also said that all sporting activities, including close contact sports, can also recommence.

On Friday, Ireland's coronavirus death toll rose to 1,714 after a two new deaths were announced by the NPHET.

There were 13 new confirmed cases of the virus in Ireland, taking the total to 25,368 since the pandemic began.