The statistics were released by Johns Hopkins University in the US.
The taoiseach (Irish PM) said the new south-east of England variant of the virus "has had a significant impact on transmission" in Ireland.
Mícheál Martin denied his government had given mixed messages by opening up parts of the economy before Christmas.
Speaking on Monday, he said public compliance with the highest possible level of restrictions in Ireland was already weakening in the two weeks just before the Christmas break.
He told the Newstalk radio station that the Irish government "never contemplated" sealing the border with Northern Ireland as a way to restrict the growth of the virus.
Such a prospect never seemed "realistic" to him, he added.
He said he would encourage people out walking to wear masks.
Mr Martin said he was told by the country's chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan that the new variant of the virus accounted for 45% of the most recent 92 samples that underwent additional testing, compared with 25% of those tested in the week to 3 January and 9% two weeks earlier.
Hospital apology amid Covid surge
The health service has been under pressure created by the pandemic, with a hospital in County Donegal apologising to patients for long waiting times on Sunday.
Some patients had to wait in ambulances outside Letterkenny University Hospital on Sunday.
The hospital said a large number of confirmed or suspected cases of Covid-19 required treatment, limiting the number of available beds.
There were up to seven ambulances waiting outside the hospital at 21:00 local time, according to Irish national broadcaster RTÉ News.
The hospital said the delays meant people could not be admitted to a dedicated Covid-19 zone.
Clinical teams assessed patients in the ambulances outside to ensure they were treated in order of priority, said the hospital.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Association (INMO) said it was "exceptionally concerned" about the situation.
Eight more coronavirus-related deaths were reported in the Republic of Ireland on Sunday, taking its overall number of deaths to 2,344.
Another 6,888 people tested positive for the virus, taking the total number of cases during the pandemic to 147,613.
As of 14:00 local time on Sunday, there were 1,452 Covid-19 patients in Irish hospitals and 125 of those were in intensive care units.
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January 11, 2021 at 09:19PM
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Covid-19: Concern as Irish infection rate becomes 'world's highest' - BBC News
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