Dublin, Aug 1 (IANS): Over 72 per cent of adults in Ireland have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said.

"The vaccine rollout (in Ireland) is continuing at great pace. Today we edged ahead of our nearest neighbours, a brilliant effort by everyone involved," he said in a tweet on Saturday.

The Prime Minister said that 72.4 per cent of adults in Ireland have been fully vaccinated, while the figure in the UK is 72.1 per cent.

On Saturday, a number of walk-in vaccination clinics have opened across Ireland.

People aged 16 and over can now receive a first dose of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at these clinics without appointment.

Last week, Karina Butler, chair of Ireland's National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC), said that the NIAC had recommended the use of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for the 12-15 year olds.

The online vaccination registration for this age group has reportedly started.

Ireland on Saturday reported another 1,427 confirmed Covid-19 cases.

"Today we have reached the milestone of 300,000 cases reported in Ireland since the beginning of the pandemic," said Tony Holohan, chief medical officer of the Irish Department of Health in a statement issued on Saturday.